As Shohei Ohtani made his Los Angeles Dodgers pitching debut on Monday, the team is facing the reality of remaining without Roki Sasaki for an extended period of time.
Manager Dave Roberts revealed that the right-hander has been shut down amid difficulty with increasing the intensity of his throwing program. That prompted Roberts to initially concede there is a chance Sasaki won’t pitch again during the 2025 season.
“I think that’s fair,” Roberts began. “Being thrust here into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him. And then now you layer in the health part of it, and then you layer in he’s a starting pitcher, the build-up, what that entails.
“I think that’s the prudent way to go about it. And whatever we get from him, and expecting him to be back and contributing, but I think yeah, the mindset should be we got to plan on life without, as far as this year. I think that’s a fair way to think about, yeah.”
However, then after the Dodgers took their rubber match with the San Francisco Giants, Roberts suggested Sasaki was still an option to pitch again this year.
“He had the cortisone shot call it five, six, seven (days), a week ago. And then there’s the no throwing to get that feeling, that pain, to subside,” he said.
“There was some rubbing, is the word he used. And so he’s pain-free. And when we start that build-up, it should be soon, he’s already moving around. So we all feel encouraged where he’s at right now, as far as the pain.”
Sasaki has been on the 15-day injured list since May 13 because of a right shoulder impingement. He owns a 1-1 record with a 4.72 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in eight starts this season.
Before his latest setback, Roberts expressed hope that Sasaki’s time on the IL would allow him to reset and make some mechanical adjustments.
Roki Sasaki throws plyo balls
One day after Roberts’ inadvertent contradictory remarks, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes revealed Sasaki was able to do some work, even if his outlook and timeline remain unclear.
“He threw some plyo balls today, so arm is moving. Feeling good coming out of that, so now it’s continuing to build a foundation and make sure we get him to a point where he’s feeling good throwing, and go from there,” Gomes said.
“What that looks like, it’s still very early in the process. But felt good coming out of today, which was a positive. So we’ll hopefully keep building off of that.”
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