Dodgers' Roki Sasaki Breaks 3-Month Silence With Major Injury Update

If Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki is familiar with any American idiomatic expressions, here's hoping he doesn't believe "you never get a second chance to make a first impression."

Sasaki is looking to do just that after going 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in his first eight starts of the season. The 23-year-old right-hander flashed the potential the Dodgers saw when they won the sweepstakes to sign the Japanese phenom in January. During a three-start stretch in April, he allowed only four earned runs across 15 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers.

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In his other five starts, Sasaki threw a total of 19.1 innings combined. He allowed 14 runs, all earned, and struggled with command (15 walks, three hit batters).

When Sasaki was placed on the injured list May 10 with a right shoulder injury, it effectively allowed him a chance to reset his season. The reset culminated with a bullpen session Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. Afterward, he spoke to reporters for the first time in nearly three months.

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“I feel better about being able to throw harder, especially because I’m pain-free,” Sasaki said. “With that being said, I do have to face live hitters and see how my mechanics hold and be able to do that consistently.”

Sasaki will get that chance on Friday. He's planning to throw a three-"inning" live BP.

As Roki Sasaki continues his throwing program (he threw another bullpen today, and will have a 3 IP live BP on Friday), Dave Roberts said the team is planning to stretch him out as a starter for now

But, Roberts left the door open to a potential relief role in Oct, if needed
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) August 5, 2025

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters the team is planning to stretch him out as a starter for now. That sets up Sasaki to be a potential insurance policy against an injury to one of the Dodgers' current five starters. Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Shohei Ohtani are all healthy for the first time in 2025.

But Roberts also allowed for the possibility that Sasaki could transition to a relief role if needed. Teams typically need three or four starting pitchers at the most in the postseason, meaning not every member of the Dodgers' vaunted rotation will take the ball in October even if all are healthy.

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Once he's medically cleared to pitch, Sasaki will still need to prove he can be effective enough to join the Dodgers' rotation.

To that end, Sasaki has introduced a two-seam fastball into his repertoire, giving him another tool in an arsenal that already included a four-seamer, splitter and slider.

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Sasaki told reporters he got up to 96 mph in his bullpen session Tuesday. He also felt his mechanics had improved.

“American hitters have a different approach at the plate compared to Japanese hitters, so I can’t really attack the way that I used to in Japan,” Sasaki told reporters. “They have different strengths and weaknesses. So, (I needed) to have more variety in how I attack hitters.”

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