Dave Roberts announces grim update on Roki Sasaki’s potential return date from IL
LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has provided an update on the status of young pitching phenom Roki Sasaki after the latter was shelved. On May 13, Sasaki was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement.
Before getting injured, the 23-year-old earned his first career MLB win in the May 3 matchup between the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves in his seventh start. He holds a 1-1 record with a 4.72 ERA and 24 strikeouts across 34 and 1/3 innings.
Roberts gave some insight about the progress of his young fireballer in an interview with ESPN LA radio on Friday. The skipper also cleared out that the prognosis for Sasaki was just a shoulder impingement and nothing more.
"I think it is what it is," Roberts said (Timestamp: 7:43). "That was a diagnosis through the MRI and also the symptoms that he was reporting. So, basically a shutdown of throwing (was needed) to calm (the injury) down and then building up the strength and then stabilizing the shoulder.
"I just don't know when the timeline is, but it's going to be some time if you're shutting down the throwing, building up, and then kind of ramping back up as a starter. It's a patience play, but also a prudent play to kind of appreciate the short-term and long-term health of Roki."
Although he was touted as one of the future big names of Japanese baseball, Sasaki has yet to find his stride stateside.
Roki Sasaki's history of injuries
Known as "the Monster of the Reiwa Era" in Japan, Roki Sasaki has been nothing short of impressive from a young age. He broke the Japanese high school record when he hurled a 101-mile-an-hour fastball that superseded Shohei Ohtani's previous record.
However, just as the case with fireballers with lanky frames, the young pitcher has had his fair share of injuries early on in his career. When he was selected in the 2019 NPB draft, the Chiba Lotte Marines elected to make him skip the pandemic-riddled 2020 season to preserve his arm.
Fast forward to late July 2023, when the former NPB phenom incurred an oblique tear that was supposed to keep him out of action for two months. However, Sasaki made a miraculous return in early September of the same year, raising eyebrows about whether he was rushed back to action.
During his final year in Chiba in 2024, the righty ace also incurred the same shoulder impingement injury that limited him to 111 innings pitched.