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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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It's hardly been the rookie season Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki would have drawn up for himself.
Considered the No. 1 prospect in baseball by some outlets entering the season, Sasaki came to the Dodgers from Japan despite being too young to sign an unrestricted free-agent contract. He's making a rookie salary and placing a major bet on himself to eventually become a star.
However, the 23-year-old stumbled out of the gates, pitching to a 4.72 ERA in his first eight major league starts, and more importantly, he's missed the last four months due to a right shoulder impingement.
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Sasaki has already made five starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City, pushing his rehab window over the usual limit of 30 days due to a calf setback. And with October barreling down, the youngster may simply not have time to prove himself ready for postseason play.
On Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic noted that Sasaki could still be "part of the conversation," but with how the rotation shakes out for this talented Dodgers team, the insider projected that it was unlikely the youngster would make the playoff roster.
"Sasaki, 23, still probably stands only an outside chance of making the Dodgers' postseason roster. But he is at least part of the conversation," Rosenthal wrote. "Sasaki obviously would not start over Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell, in whatever order the Dodgers use them. And (manager Dave) Roberts told reporters that pitching out of the bullpen would be 'completely odd' for the rookie, requiring him to take a leap of faith.
"So, creating a roster spot would be a challenge."
Things can always change. Sasaki's next rehab outing, scheduled for Tuesday, could be so dominant that the Dodgers feel he's ready to pitch before the regular season ends.
Sonja Chen of MLB.com noted last week that if he does return during the regular season, Sasaki is likely to pitch out of the bullpen. He'd have to wow the coaching staff, but that could be his narrow path to pitch in October.
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