Roki Sasaki is scheduled to make his return on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres.
LOS ANGELES — Since Aug. 27, Los Angeles Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki has been sidelined with a blister on his middle finger that flared up in his start against the Atlanta Braves the day prior.
Twenty-three days later, he is expected to make his return from the Injured List during the Dodgers' final home series of the season against the San Diego Padres, per skipper Dave Roberts.
Sasaki's build-up has been relatively smooth, as he made the jump, pumping 48 pitches in a four-inning simulated game during the Cincinnati road trip. Still, Roberts did not provide a concrete answer on whether the 24-year-old right-hander will start one more game before the postseason commences or reacclimate himself to a relief role.
Roberts added that Sasaki will pitch "multiples" but no date has been circled for his return yet. During his buildup, Sasaki applied Dermabond to his middle finger to treat the blister.
"Given the Dermabond, the time that he'll have in between this next outing, the hope is that it's dang near close to being healed," Roberts told Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
Aug 26, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) exits the game against the Atlanta Braves in the fourth inning at Truist Park. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectThis season, Sasaki has posted an ERA below five (4.60) in 119.1 innings pitched and a WHIP of 1.33 in 23 starts. Across his last seven starts, he recorded an ERA of 3.05 in 38.1 innings.
The chances of Sasaki coming out as a starter are the same as his chances of pitching out of the bullpen. With the injury scare of Blake Snell's left groin tightness in his last outing against the Cincinnati Reds, all signs pointed to Sasaki barring down his starting role.
But since that first-inning exit, Snell has only improved and gotten better.
"He's trending very well," Roberts said before Saturday's game, and there's "potential" that he could make one more regular season start against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
Regardless of where Sasaki is placed, the Dodgers are full steam ahead towards another deep postseason run with a very heavy stacked starting rotation.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who hasn't missed a start all year in 27 tries, leads the bunch that includes Tarik Skubal, Snell, and Tyler Glasnow.
Regarding Shohei Ohtani, he has made leaps in terms of hitting. The two-way star started hitting off a Trajekt machine at full intensity, per hitting coach Aaron Bates.
Ohtani was also running the bases during the Dodgers' turn in batting practice ahead of Saturday's game. It marks the first time he'd done any on-field work since he landed on the IL.
