In a season that tested the limits of hype and hardship, Roki Sasaki finally stepped into the spotlight for the Los Angeles Dodgers during their Wild Card Series sweep over the Cincinnati Reds. The 23-year-old Japanese phenom, once heralded as the next big thing after signing with the team in the offseason, had spent much of 2025 sidelined by a nagging shoulder injury. But there he was, on Wednesday night, slamming the door on the Reds in the ninth inning of a decisive 5-2 victory, striking out two and throwing heat that topped 98 mph. It was a moment that felt both inevitable and overdue.
Dave Roberts, the Dodgers' steady-handed manager, didn't hold back after the game. He called Sasaki's performance "electric" and made it clear the rookie has earned a spot in high-leverage situations moving forward. "I trust him in those moments," Roberts said, emphasizing how Sasaki's mechanical tweaks during rehab had unlocked something fierce. Indeed, Sasaki's path to this point wasn't smooth. He missed 119 games, struggled through minor league starts where his velocity dipped into the mid-90s, and even faced whispers of a lost rookie year. Yet, in the final week of the regular season, he logged two scoreless seventh-inning outings as a reliever, proving he could handle the big leagues' pressure cooker.
However, the transition from starter to bullpen arm raises questions about Sasaki's long-term role. Roberts has him slotted for relief duties in the upcoming National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, starting Friday. The Dodgers, already stacked with aces like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a resurgent Shohei Ohtani, see Sasaki as a wildcard weapon—pun intended. His splitter still bites like it did in Japan, where he once threw a perfect game, but adapting to MLB's grind has been a brutal lesson. Moreover, with the bullpen's 4.33 ERA this year exposing cracks, Sasaki's arrival feels like a timely boost, even if it's born from adversity.
Still, as the playoffs intensify, one can't help but wonder if this late surge signals the start of Sasaki's dominance or just a fleeting spark in a Dodgers run aimed at another title.