Roki Sasaki's Spring Training Performance Shows Two Different Sides, Dodgers Face a "Dual Personality" Dilemma

Today, the Los Angeles Dodgers witnessed two versions of Roki Sasaki on the mound.

One version faced five batters without recording a single out. The other version retired six consecutive batters. The former closely resembled the Sasaki who struggled in the starting rotation last season, while the latter was closer to the confident Sasaki who served as a closer in the postseason.

The Dodgers may have a rather peculiar case on their hands, much like "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." But while the literary character strives to control his alter ego, Sasaki has been battling fastball command issues.

In the Dodgers' eventual 5-4 win over the Cleveland Guardians, Sasaki labored immensely in the first inning, issuing three walks and surrendering a grand slam to Kyle Manzardo. Manager Dave Roberts pulled him before he could record any outs.

However, Sasaki re-entered the game in the second inning—which is permitted in spring training games—and he fully utilized this "reset." Although his first two pitches of the new inning missed the zone, he then retired three straight batters, including two swinging strikeouts on his splitter. He took the mound again in the third inning and retired the side in order once more.

"As he gains experience," Roberts said, "you certainly hope this can happen earlier within an inning, rather than having to sit for 20 minutes and then come back to reset. But that's part of the growth curve."

In the first inning, Sasaki threw 23 pitches with only 8 strikes, issuing three walks and allowing two hits, resulting in four runs, all earned. In the second and third innings, he faced the minimum number of batters, recorded two strikeouts, and threw 13 strikes out of 22 pitches. He later stated that a mechanical issue affected his command.

"I felt my upper body was leaning forward too much on the first couple of pitches," Sasaki said through an interpreter. "Later, I raised my upper body a bit, and my body felt much better. After that, everything flowed smoothly. The result was certainly bad, but my feel and mechanics aligned."

This is precisely the dilemma the Dodgers face with Roki Sasaki. The young, talented pitcher who shone in Japan has flashes of brilliance, but he has yet to prove he can consistently dominate MLB hitters as a starting pitcher.

A silver lining this spring has been Sasaki's maintained velocity. Today, his four-seam fastball averaged 98 mph, topping out at 99.3 mph. He heavily utilized his newly developed cutter-slider, generating one whiff on four swings, and his splitter remained as devastating as ever.

But without fastball command to set them up, the effectiveness of his secondary pitches is ultimately limited—a prominent issue in his first two starts.

Last year, Sasaki had a rough start in the rotation. After a shoulder injury, he returned to the Dodgers in a relief role, focusing on adjusting his lower-body mechanics to increase velocity. Today, he felt an issue with his upper body led to his command problems.

"I found something I can truly trust," Sasaki said, "but I need to keep working to be able to reproduce it consistently in games."

The Dodgers' pitching depth has already taken hits this spring. Blake Snell, who was expected to be in the Opening Day rotation, and Gavin Stone, who was competing for a spot, will both miss Opening Day. Currently, only three pitchers are locked into rotation spots—Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani. The remaining spots will be contested by Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski, River Ryan, and others.

Roberts reiterated his stance from early in spring training: he expects Sasaki to be in the Opening Day rotation, but performance is a prerequisite. After two disappointing starts, the Dodgers' view on this remains unchanged.

"Things could change. But I don't think they will before we break camp," Roberts said. "We are developing him as a starter, giving him every opportunity to succeed. But again, we still have to coach him, and he still needs to consistently get outs and get ahead in counts like a major league starter."