Andrew Friedman evades questions about Roki Sasaki’s readiness as Dodgers trim roster

Roki Sasaki will be a member of the Dodgers' starting rotation come Opening Day. Dave Roberts has said it, Andrew Friedman has said it, Brandon Gomes has said it — and they're probably getting pretty tired having to reiterate it, given that they've been dead-set on it since, quite literally, right after they won the World Series.

But they're going to keep getting questions about Sasaki and his viability as a starter as long as he continues to struggle. His 6 2/3 innings in spring training haven't lent any reassurance (13.50 ERA, nine walks to 10 strikeouts, two home runs allowed), and his dismissal of his struggles hasn't really endeared him to fans.

Roberts said (again) this week that Sasaki would be in the rotation despite his showing in camp. But when asked if he was actually one of the 13 best pitchers in the organization, he evaded the question. Friedman quibbled with the wording itself.

"You don't just order them one through 13 and then, oh, he's No. 14," Friedman said. "Most of the time, 13 through, say, 18 are very close. There are a lot of factors that go into making those roster decisions."

Andrew Friedman didn't sound very optimistic about Roki Sasaki's Dodgers spring training

As to why the Dodgers wouldn't be sending Sasaki down to Triple-A to start the season and work out some kinks: "There's obviously a big gap between Triple-A and the big leagues. With certain really talented young players that we really believe in, we think that last mile of player development is generally better served at the major-league level."

So it'll be trial by fire for Sasaki once again.

And there's some merit to that. That Triple-A-to-majors gap is wide and getting wider. Keeping Sasaki in the majors also means maintaining a close proximity to the best of the best: both his teammates and the major league coaching staff.

The Dodgers have warned from the beginning that Sasaki is an "unfinished product," presumably trying to get ahead of criticism like this if their still very young starter encountered some bumps in the road.

It was never going to do the whole job, though. Sasaki still has to get provably, markedly better, and so far he hasn't. At this point, Dodgers fans are more curious about when they'll finally decide they've had enough and demote him, rather than when he'll actually get better and prove he was worth the hype.