With only 15 games remaining on their schedule, the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation has not only been healthy but thoroughly dominant of late, which has led to some uncertainty with Roki Sasaki’s outlook.
Sasaki began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Aug. 14 and has made five starts for the Dodgers’ top Minor League affiliate. That’s come with mixed results, though Sasaki did finish with a season-high five strikeouts in his outing this Tuesday.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was pleased with Sasaki’s start, and in particular due to his fastball velocity hovering around triple-digits throughout the 4.2 innings pitched. Next was a meeting between Sasaki and Dodgers leadership to determine a course of action moving forward.
According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Roberts revealed Sasaki began to deal with some calf trouble in his last start and thus his rehab assignment has been extended:
Roki Sasaki will have at least one more start with OKC, Dave Roberts said. Sasaki had “a calf situation,” Roberts said, which allowed the team to extend his rehab past the 30 days. Roberts was still hopeful he could pitch in MLB games after that.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) September 13, 2025
The calf injury allows the Dodgers to reset Sasaki’s timeline for his rehab assignments. Pitchers are allowed to be on a rehab assignment with a Minor League affiliate for up to 30 days, which the right-hander had effectively reached the end of this week. The Comets have eight games remaining on their schedule.
While the Dodgers have been open to Sasaki’s return this year, it’s far from a necessity. In the six games leading up to Friday’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants, Dodgers starting pitchers combined for a 1.18 ERA and averaged 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
The stretch included Yoshinobu Yamamoto nearly throwing a no-hitter, Clayton Kershaw flirting with one as well, and Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan following suit.
Roki Sasaki’s role with Dodgers
Given their surplus of starting pitchers and the group’s high level of performance, the reality is Sasaki’s only chance to make an impact with the Dodgers this year would be in a relief role. That’s a change he’s thought to be open to.
However the matter unfolds, Roberts recently said Sasaki’s rookie season has served as a valuable learning process.
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