Roki Sasaki is very much on the come-up right now.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke with reporters on Tuesday and revealed that the right-hander Sasaki will be the team’s primary option at closer moving forward, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The news comes with the Dodgers currently up 2-0 in their NLDS series against the Philadelphia Phillies heading into Game 3 on Wednesday.
Sasaki, the 23-year-old rookie, missed most of the regular season with an injury to his throwing shoulder. During the few starts that he did make for the Dodgers, Sasaki posted an ugly 4.72 ERA and was even seemingly crying after one particularly rough outing.
But Sasaki returned from his injury in late September and pitched a couple of games out of the bullpen for the Dodgers. The team then eventually decided to keep Sasaki as a reliever heading into the postseason.
The early returns have been encouraging too as Sasaki shut the door on the Phillies in the ninth inning during both of the first two contests of the NLDS, earning the saves both times. For the Dodgers, their bullpen has struggled mightily for much of this season (with one-time ninth-inning men Blake Treinen and Tanner Scott having been comically bad in particular).
It remains to be seen if Sasaki has what it takes to be a starter in Major League Baseball. But the Dodgers seem to have found a perfect role for him as their new go-to closer in the postseason, which is an incredible rebound for Sasaki just months after he couldn’t even get guys out in the minor leagues.
