""I didn't have a conversation, per se, with the team," Sasaki said through his interpreter at DodgerFest. "It was really up to the team. You know, it was really the team that decided. But for me, my mentality is it's going to be a lot of competition to earn the spot in the rotation, so that's my mindset going into Spring Training.""
"He landed on the 15-day IL on May 13 due to a right shoulder impingement, and he was transferred to the 60-day IL on June 20. The 24-year-old did not return to the Majors until Sept. 24 after a lengthy rehab assignment in the Minor Leagues. When the Dodgers brought him back, they also used him as a reliever rather than in the starting role he was accustomed to."
Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will represent Samurai Japan at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but Roki Sasaki will not be on the roster. The Dodgers withheld permission for Sasaki to compete after significant injured-list time last season, and the decision rested with the front office. Sasaki said he did not have a conversation with the team about the decision and plans to compete for a rotation spot in Spring Training. Sasaki was on Japan's preliminary roster and likely would have made the final team if the Dodgers had allowed him to pitch. He totaled only 36.1 innings over 10 games in his rookie MLB season, landing on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder impingement before being moved to the 60-day IL. He returned in late September as a reliever, became the Dodgers' highest-leverage postseason reliever and helped the team win the 2025 World Series.
Read at Dodger Blue
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