Roki Sasaki could do the unthinkable for Dodgers after outstanding inning vs. Reds

When the Los Angeles Dodgers won the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes last offseason and enlisted the services of the coveted Japanese phenom, everyone expected him to be part of a stacked starting rotation that would help carry the defending World Series champions to a second consecutive title.

However, fate had other plans.

Sasaki's Major League debut campaign did not go as expected, with his regular season being limited to just 36 1/3 innings over 10 games (eight starts) as he missed significant time due to right shoulder impingement. The appearances he did make were hardly the superstar-caliber starts that were expected of him, as he pitched to a 4.72 ERA over 34 1/3 innings as a starter in 2025.

Sasaki's return from the injured list came with mere days left in the regular season. The Dodgers opted to deploy him out of the bullpen in a last-ditch effort to stabilize their crumbling relief core – and so far, the results speak for themselves.

Roki Sasaki essentially wins Dodgers' postseason closer job after dominant Wild Card performance

After giving up just one hit over two scoreless innings of relief during the final week of the regular season, Sasaki stepped onto the October stage Wednesday in Game 2 of the Dodgers' best-of-three Wild Card series against the Cincinnati Reds.

With a trip to the NLDS on the line, Sasaki dominated with seven fastballs – six of which were over 100 mph – in a perfect ninth inning against the Reds. In fact, he may have solved the Dodgers' myriad bullpen problems in the process.

Tanner Scott – whom the Dodgers actually intended to be their closer when they signed him to a massive free agent deal during the offseason – proved he couldn't be trusted in high-leverage situations with a second-half meltdown that saw him blow three of his last seven save opportunities as his ERA ballooned up to 7.50 over his final 15 appearances of the year. He made the NLDS roster but did not appear in a game against the Reds.

Blake Treinen, the Dodgers' other traditional closer option, came into the postseason after posting a horrendous 9.64 ERA during the month of September. He recorded a pair of strikeouts in one inning of relief during the Wild Card series, but his reliability in high-leverage situations has faltered significantly as well.

As the Dodgers prepare to take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, they will do so with Sasaki as their ninth-inning shutdown arm. It may not be the role they envisioned for him at the start of the season, but it's an equally – if not more – important one that could keep the Dodgers' shaky bullpen afloat and give them a chance at a title defense.