Roberts: Sasaki will be one of Dodgers' starters to begin season
Roki Sasaki will begin the regular season as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting rotation despite a rocky spring in which he's posted a 13.50 ERA.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that the 24-year-old "is going to be one of our starters" as the team begins to finalize its Opening Day roster, according to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.
Sasaki was erratic against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, allowing three earned runs and a homer while walking four in 3 1/3 innings.
"You've got to be able to take down innings and be able to make adjustments sooner," Roberts said after Sasaki's start. "I know there were some things he was working through tonight, but when you're in the middle of a game, you've got to find a way to adjust quicker. That's something that's probably part of the learning curve for him."
Sasaki has struggled as a starter since coming to MLB, posting a 4.72 ERA and 6.19 FIP in eight starts last season before missing four months with a shoulder injury.
He performed much better out of the Dodgers' bullpen, throwing two scoreless innings at the end of the 2025 regular season before striking out six and allowing one earned run in 10 2/3 playoff innings.
The Dodgers are expected to use a rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Emmet Sheehan, and Sasaki to begin the campaign.