Roki Sasaki ‘Fantastic’ In 1st Bullpen Appearance On Rehab Assignment

Roki Sasaki pitched in another rehab game as he continues to work toward a potential return to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but this time in came in an unfamiliar role.

Rather than starting the game, Sasaki came out of the bullpen in the fifth inning for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets. This comes after Sasaki met with the Dodgers last week, and he expressed being open to the idea of pitching in relief.

The right-hander pitched one inning, striking out two, walking one and getting a fly out. Sasaki’s fastball velocity averaged 98.9 mph on 16 pitches, 11 of which were strikes.

Due to the positive showing from Sasaki, he is pushing his way into being an option for the Dodgers’ postseason bullpen given their struggles.

“To his credit, he’s open to doing whatever he can to help the ’25 Dodgers, manager Dave Roberts said. “So he did something he’s never done, pitched out of the bullpen, and from what I hear, he was fantastic. I give Roki a lot of credit.

“He’ll pitch again on Sunday, and then once he gets through Sunday, then we’ll make a decision on the following week.”

Time is running out for Sasaki to return to the MLB roster. After he pitches again on Sunday, the Dodgers will only have six games remaining in the regular season.

But despite the short time frame, Roberts believes Sasaki can still prove himself worthy of a bullpen spot.

“I do,” Roberts said. “And the first part of it was him giving himself the opportunity, to agree to go to the ‘pen.

“And then the next part is he’s got to perform. And so tonight he performed, he was really good. Let’s see it again on Sunday, and then it kind of puts the onus on the organization to make a decision.”

Prior to landing on the injured list, Sasaki pitched 34.1 innings with a 4.72 ERA, 15.6% strikeout rate and 14.3% walk rate.

Given his struggles, the Dodgers would likely have to put trust in his stuff being back up to expectations to put him on the roster.

Roki Sasaki had rehab assignment extended by injury

Sasaki began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Aug. 14, and pitchers are allowed to be on a rehab assignment with a Minor League affiliate for up to 30 days, which the right-hander had already reached.

However, Sasaki dealt with a calf issue that allowed the team to extend his rehab assignment.