Dodgers' Roki Sasaki Compared to Cy Young Pitcher, Gets Insight From Him

Oct 28, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) warms up before game four of the 2025 MLB World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Roki Sasaki's path to pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series was anything but linear.

The rookie, who pitched professionally in Japan before joining the Dodgers, was underwhelming in the first eight appearances of his Major League Baseball career before he suffered a right shoulder injury in May. Sasaki spent months rehabbing and reforming his throwing motion, working closely with the Dodgers' pitching staff to breathe new life into the 24-year-old's young career.

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After coming in as a reliever in a few games to close out the regular season, Sasaki became the Dodgers' go-to guy out of the bullpen, earning three saves and two holds while allowing just one earned run across 10.2 innings.

The Dodgers didn't sign Sasaki to be a reliever, however, as he is expected to join Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow in the Dodgers' 2026 starting rotation.

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"I think for us, [using Sasaki as a reliever] was about trying to get his delivery back. I feel like we made a lot of progress on that," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said recently. "So for us, we’re definitely viewing him as a starter and a really good one, and we’ll continue to work this offseason and put him in the best position to be ready in spring training to help us win again.”

Sasaki's experience in the postseason should serve as a confidence boost going into his second season, according to Cy Young winner David Price.

Like Roki Sasaki, David Price came out of the bullpen and threw some major innings throughout his team's run to the World Series as a rookie!

The 14-year Big Leaguer weighed in on Sasaki's development over his first season in MLB with the Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/bdLH2lSDQb

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 24, 2025

Price himself had a similar path as Sasaki, making one start his rookie year before coming out of the bullpen for the remainder of the regular season. Unlike Sasaki, Price didn't make the Rays' postseason roster, which he thinks should put the young pitcher in the perfect position to perform next season.

"Just to get you a little taste of the playoffs at such a young age, that was huge. Just to be a part of the clubhouse, be with all the guys, be on the field and get some big outs," Price said on MLB Network. "That's what Roki was able to do and I think that is going to be a huge boost for his confidence because I know he was down on himself early on the season because he wasn't getting the results he expected to get. But for him to bounce back, go to the minor leagues, figure some stuff out, come back healthy and record some of the biggest outs for the Dodgers during the playoffs, that's going to be huge for him."

Sasaki and the rest of the Dodgers pitchers and catchers will report to spring training in mid-February to prepare to defend their consecutive World Series titles.

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