Dodgers may need to reconsider something they were too proud to do with Roki Sasaki

Roki Sasaki completed the second start of his rehab assignment on Thursday evening, and it at least went better than his first. In that first outing, he needed 23 pitches to get out of the first inning, gave up three earned runs overall, and didn't strike anyone out.

The most worrisome aspect was his fastball velocity — down to around 93-94 MPH from the 96-97 he'd been throwing in sim games. He was pulled after two innings despite the loose expectation he'd get to three.

In his second start, he got to 3 1/3 innings, his velocity was back up to around 96, and he struck out two. But he also walked three, gave up two runs (one earned), and struggled to generate whiffs on the fastball.

It was promising, sure, but Sasaki is still far from living up to expectations.

There were signs that Sasaki was struggling as early as spring training, which led to questions about whether or not the Dodgers would put him in the minor leagues to begin the year. Obviously, they declined to do so, but it might be a notion that they have to revisit in 2026 if the rest of his rehab assignment continues to yield mixed results.

Should Dodgers consider starting Roki Sasaki in the minors in 2026?

To send Sasaki to the minors would be for the Dodgers to admit that signing him wasn't the immediate upgrade for the rotation that they wanted. They've tried to temper fans' expectations, with Dave Roberts and pitching coach Mark Prior insisting that Sasaki is an "unfinished product," but demoting him may be a step too far for the front office.

What do they really have to lose, though? Sasaki is under team control for the foreseeable future, he's only 23, and his adjustment to the majors has been anything but graceful. The pressure had to have been enormous, and he was probably pitching through the issue that eventually sent him to the IL for longer than fans knew. Allowing him to get it together in a lower-stakes environment could help both his mental state and his development.

This year's minor league season is almost over, so it's likely that Sasaki does end up getting reinstated to the major league roster before the playoffs, and maybe we could see him pitching a few innings in relief during the postseason. However, if spring training rolls around next year and there haven't been any marked improvements, a brief demotion should be on the table.