![\"R\u014dki](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3895,h_2190\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/229\/01jtxmkdfqwd9crccp16.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe\u00a0Los Angeles Dodgers\u00a0beat the\u00a0Arizona Diamondbacks\u00a014-11 on Friday night in what quickly became an offensive slugfest.<\/p>\n
Few teams are better equipped to win in a shootout than the Dodgers, but L.A.’s constant\u00a0mixed results\u00a0on the mound are a problem.<\/p>\n
As the injuries pile up, the Dodgers are dealing with another\u00a0encroaching insufficiency\u00a0in the rotation: R\u014dki Sasaki just does not have it. He allowed five hits, two walks and five earned runs in Friday’s game. Los Angeles won, but that does not overshadow another middling performance from the offseason’s biggest non-Juan Soto prize.<\/p>\n
It’s time for the Dodgers to consider a drastic measure with the 23-year-old.<\/p>\n
Dodgers need to consider demoting R\u014dki Sasaki to the minors \u2014 for now<\/h2>\n
After Juan Soto locked up his historic $765 million contract with the\u00a0New York Mets, all attention this past offseason was directed to Sasaki.<\/p>\n
He was billed as the most exciting Japanese prospect since Shohei Ohtani. Since he was signing as an amateur, rather than a professional, he was only eligible for international bonus pool money \u2014 not the $325 million megadeal Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed the season prior.<\/p>\n
Months of speculation ended with Sasaki landing right alongside Ohtani and Yamamoto on the Dodgers. While he was still viewed as a work in progress at 23, Sasaki also was billed as a day-one starter. The Dodgers treated him accordingly.<\/p>\n
Sasaki was a bonafide ace across the Pacific in NPB, but he also dealt with shoulder injuries and a recent decline in velocity.<\/p>\n
Consequently, there were concerns about his durability and whether his stuff would translate. Most folks happily waved those concerns off as minor nitpicks for an otherworldly talent, but so far, the issues have far outweighed the positives. Sasaki is struggling to pitch deep into games, and his fastball in utterly juiceless.<\/p>\n
He recorded zero whiffs on his fastball in Friday’s game and holds the sixth-worst\u00a0whiff percentage\u00a0(10.1) on four-seam fastballs in MLB this season.<\/p>\n