Since his return from injury, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki has become a bullpen arm for manager Dave Roberts. Moreover, the Japanese pitcher is showing that he can fill this role as the Dodgers look to repeat as World Series champions.
The MLB postseason is all about players putting their egos aside and putting what’s best for the team first. Every postseason, there are players playing out of position, starting pitchers pitching on three days’ rest, or even coming out of the bullpen as Sasaki is doing.
Will Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki Stay In The Bullpen?
Nonetheless, while Sasaki has found success as a reliever after struggling this season as a starter before his injury, don’t expect the young pitcher to give up on his aspirations for being an MLB starting pitcher.
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“The difficulty of pitching in relief is just the way I’m warming up; it takes a while to warm up,” Sasaki said (h/t Dodgers Nation). “In a playoff format, I’m able to do that because I have the stamina of a starting pitcher.”
Can Roki Sasaki Become The Dodgers Closer This Postseason?
Game 1 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series begins on Saturday. While the Dodgers’ bullpen did bend against the Reds, it never broke. However, against the Phillies’ firepower, shaky outings from the bullpen could be costly.
As a result, can Sasaki handle these high-leverage situations if manager Dave Roberts hands him the ball? MLB insider Ken Rosenthal does have question marks.
“I’m not entirely trusting what we’re seeing,” Rosenthal said recently on Foul Territory. “Now, he’s been really good, and I don’t want to diminish what Sasaki has accomplished here, but this is a young pitcher still, and you’re going to be throwing him into this incredible crucible.
“The Reds series is not an incredible crucible. So we’ll see how it plays out. And I like him from a stuff perspective as the closer, I don’t know, overall, if that’s an entirely trustworthy scenario.”
Game 1 of the NLDS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Reds begins at 3:38 PM PT. The game will air on TBS and HBO Max, and Shohei Ohtani will start on the mound for the Boys in Blue.
