Dodgers find weirdly convenient loophole to extend Roki Sasaki’s rehab assignment

Friday, Sept. 12 came and went without the Dodgers having made a decision on the future of Roki Sasaki's rookie season. His 30 days on a rehab assignment in Triple-A had elapsed, so the Dodgers were supposed to either reinstate him to the active roster or option him to Triple-A. But no roster move came.

That night, Dave Roberts said that Sasaki had a "calf situation" that let the team extend his stay in Oklahoma City, per Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic. Sure, a "calf situation."

Sasaki's latest start on Sept. 9 went a lot better than his previous four. He pitched 4 2/3 innings, struck out eight batters, and his fastball velocity hit over 100 MPH multiple times. However, he still gave up three runs on three hits, a hit by pitch, and four walks, and he still labored pretty significantly, throwing 90 pitches over those 4 2/3 innings.

It wasn't enough to convince fans that he would be any better when he got to the majors, and the Dodgers might've been feeling similarly. It's unclear how much longer they'll be able to keep him in the minors with the alleged setback, but the Triple-A season is over on Sept. 21, which would allow him to make just two more starts, at most.

Dodgers push back decision deadline on Roki Sasaki after reported calf injury

Roberts added that Sasaki could be open to pitching in relief if he comes back to the major league squad, but he hasn't really seemed all that enthused about Sasaki returning throughout this entire process. At the very least, he's not interested in rushing the rookie by any means.

Reliever is really the only capacity that the Dodgers would be able to fit or trust him in anyway. The rotation is up to six now that everyone is healthy, and Emmet Sheehan has been pitching far too well for the Dodgers to send him to the bullpen or down to the minors in order to accommodate a struggling Sasaki.

Ultimately, though, the decision will hinge on Sasaki's next start (or two, if they can manage it) in Triple-A. Even if he throws another outing like the one he did on Sept. 9, it still might not be convincing enough. The Dodgers are still fighting to clinch the No. 3 seed and their bullpen is devastatingly bad as of late, so having Sasaki back could end up being more hurt than help.