It appears as if Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki isn’t too far away from returning to action with the big league club.
Due to a shoulder issue, Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers have been particularly cautious with the 23-year-old given it’s his first year pitching abroad away from his native Japan.
Doug Padilla of The Orange County Register caught up with manager Dave Roberts prior to Wednesday’s 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Sasaki threw 39 pitches Wednesday morning, and will throw another bullpen session over the weekend before being sent to the team’s minor league facility for live at-bats.
Based on how Sasaki has looked, coupled with the adjustments he’s made, Roberts sounded bullish on how he’d reacclimatize to the team.
Roki Sasaki threw a 39-pitch bullpen session this morning. He’ll throw again this weekend, and next week, he’ll likely go to Arizona and begin facing hitters, Dave Roberts said.
— Sonja Chen (@SonjaMChen) July 23, 2025
“This is the time for him to figure things out, as he’s building up,” Roberts said. “From what I’ve heard from the pitching guys, the delivery is much more consistent. I think that lends itself to the strength that he has now. He’s gotten a lot stronger.”
While there’s some cautiousness about Sasaki’s return, there’s also plenty of excitement knowing that the pitcher everyone saw the first few months of the season is far from the Dodgers hope to showcase down the line given Sasaki’s talent and pedigree.
“It’s exciting. [Sasaki is] obviously very talented,” Roberts said. “I think we haven’t come close to seeing what’s in there, even for this season. Obviously things happen, and you got to kind of read and react, so to get more guys back online, to backfill, to kind of be to the forefront, any way you want to see it, I think is really exciting.”
While there’s no timetable for his return to action, it’s expected that Sasaki will follow Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell in becoming members of the rotation sooner rather than later. Glasnow has been fantastic in the wake of his return from injury, and Snell has been ramping up his efforts in minor league contests.
On the year, Sasaki has a 1-1 record with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts.
Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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