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Mark Prior Clarifies Injury to Dodgers' Rising Star Amid Clayton Kershaw's Return

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Conor Liguori | Last updated May 23, 2025 3:36 PM ET

The Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching staff has dealt with its fair share of injuries through the season's first 50 games.

After losing Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow to the injured list, rookie starting pitcher Roki Sasaki also needs time on the shelf to recover from a right shoulder impingement.

During Sasaki's last few outings before being placed on the 15-day injured list on May 13, his fastball velocity was noticeably lower than usual, something Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior spoke about on Dodgers Territory with hosts Alanna Rizzo and Clint Pasillas.

"He got to the point where he spoke up, and we're glad he did, because I think it's something that we needed to address."

Mark Prior gave some insight into what’s going on with Roki Sasaki’s shoulder. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/MiQiocs9Jp
— Dodgers Territory (@LADTerritory) May 22, 2025

"Clearly, he was kinda bothered by it last year at times in Japan, and it's kinda reared its head a little bit," Prior said about Sasaki's shoulder injury on Dodgers Territory.

"I think you kinda have two different paths here. You have a development path overlayed with him trying to perform at the Major League level. Those things aren't easy. We see it a lot with guys coming up from Triple-A and the minor leagues, and they're trying to continue their development at the big league level, and that's extremely hard, and sometimes it gets messy."

Sasaki dealt with a similar injury last year in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines. He made 18 starts and posted a 2.35 ERA with 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Rikuzentakata native made eight MLB starts before he was sidelined. Sasaki partially struggled with command (5.8 BB/9), finding his rhythm and adjusting to hitters' approach in a different league.

The Dodgers' rotation has become somewhat of a revolving door. Four days after Sasaki landed on the injured list, veteran Clayton Kershaw returned from his rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

According to Kyle Glaser of MLB.com, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sasaki may not throw for the foreseeable future, and there's no timeline for his return.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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