Roki Sasaki began his Minor League rehab assignment with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets on Aug. 14 as he looks to potentially return to Los Angeles Dodgers’ active roster before the season ends.
Sasaki struggled in his first game back since May 9, allowing three runs on six hits with no strikeouts and one walk in two innings. The Dodgers were hoping he would complete three innings in the start.
His second outing was a slight improvement, but still a mixed bag overall. The right-hander allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and issued three walks against two strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work.
Sasaki made his third start for the Comets on Tuesday night and pitched 3.2 innings. He allowed three runs and finished with four strikeouts. The right-hander fared reasonably well through three innings before running into trouble after collecting back-to-back strikeouts in the fourth.
Sasaki’s fastball velocity topped out at 98.8 mph and averaged 96 mph. He only threw fastballs and splitters in the outing. Over his three rehab starts thus far, Sasaki has thrown 100 fastballs that have generated just three swings and misses.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had indicated the goal was for Sasaki to complete four innings and potentially pitch some of the fifth as well.
Because the Dodgers’ rotation has stabilized with Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell back in the fold, the team is comfortable letting Sasaki complete an additional start after this week before they would consider activating him.
Roberts acknowledged that Sasaki still has a ways to go after his second rehab start but noted several positives compared to the first outing.
“I think that he’s not quite there yet, but he’s getting there,” Roberts said before Tuesday’s start. “And again, there’s nothing more confidence-building than performance. So it was good to see his last one.”
Dodgers have not ruled out bullpen role for Roki Sasaki
Sasaki built himself up as a starter in anticipation for this rehab assignment, but a move to the bullpen is not out of the question, depending on how other areas of the roster shake out.
The Dodgers now boast a rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Emmet Sheehan, Snell and Glasnow. But there is a lack depth behind them after the team moved Justin Wrobleski to a bullpen role.
However, the Dodgers have a lot to evaluate in this final month of the regular season, especially with the bullpen. Their performance down the stretch could influence the Dodgers’ decision when it comes to constructing a postseason roster and determining roles.
Sasaki has expressed a willingness to pitch out of the bullpen should the Dodgers ask that of him.
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