Dave Roberts Doubles Down on Roki Sasaki Decision
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has continued to support pitcher Roki Sasaki amid his roller coaster Spring Training. Sasaki has pitched 6. 2 innings during Spring Training in 2026, walking nine batters and striking out 10 in Cactus League games.
He has allowed nine hits and 10 runs charged to his name over three starts. Not all has been bad for Sasaki, though — his fastball velocity is consistent and rising start over start, while his new pitch, a cutter, is being thrown more often and even got a strikeout with it during his outing against the Kansas City Royals. Mar 3, 2026; Goodyear, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) is taken out of the game by manager Dave Roberts (30) against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning at Goodyear Ballpark.
Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images The fastball-splitter combination, when used as the focus of the pitching mix, is deadly for its movement and deception, but the command Sasaki has shown is quite underwhelming, given that he is in his second Spring Training. Dave Roberts has had to come in to two different games to pull Sasaki after he seemingly lost control of his pitches, only for the Japanese pitcher to re-enter the next time up to get a fresh start and reset. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dodgers Nation (@dodgersnation) While the Spring Training starts have been rough, Roberts is not waning on his support for Sasaki as a starter in MLB.
Roki Sasaki is starting the season on rotation According to Dave Roberts , Sasaki will be in the rotation to start out 2026, even as fans and media have questioned the results that he has put up in the spring. “He’s going to be one of our starters, and I just think that I’ve been very consistent in the sense that we don’t solely evaluate Spring Training as in its entirety along,” Roberts said. “He’s got things to prove, consistency of getting guys out, of strike throwing, but he’s going to get that opportunity to start the season and we’ll see where we go from there.
” 2026 is a massive year for Sasaki to prove that he is a starting-caliber pitcher in the big leagues. He was an elite postseason reliever in 2025, but there hasn’t been a start in which he has felt fully put together mentally or mechanically. Until he does, skeptics will remain about whether he can truly start and get 20+ outs or if he is a higher-leverage relief arm.