Rollercoaster Roki Sasaki rehab assignment puts Dodgers in a difficult spot

After four underwhelming to downright worrisome rehab starts, Roki Sasaki finally pitched one worth getting excited about on Tuesday. He struck out eight batters in 4 2/3 innings and he threw six fastballs over 100 MPH. The fastball sat at 98.6 MPH, up 4 MPH from his Sept. 2 appearance. His first four innings were easily the most dominant of his rehab assignment so far, if not the most dominant since he came over from NPB.

But there are caveats. In the top of the fifth, Sasaki gave up a leadoff walk, and then a single, and then another walk to load the bases. An RBI groundout, a sac fly, a double, and then a hit by pitch got Sasaki yanked from the game and gave the Sacramento River Cats three runs.

The Dodgers have continued to tack more and more starts onto Sasaki's to-do list before they make a decision to bring him back to the majors, but he pitched like a guy who knew that was his last chance to make an impression this year. He'll either have to be reactivated from the IL or optioned to the minors by Sept. 12.

If Sasaki had pitched like he did on Tuesday in his first rehab start, the Dodgers probably wouldn't need to stress as much about the impending decision. As things stand, however, it's still unclear whether or not they'll bring him back to the majors.

Roki Sasaki's latest rehab start may not have Dodgers full convinced

Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic wrote that Dave Roberts sounded "pleasantly surprised" when informed about the uptick in Sasaki velocity, but he didn't give anything away regarding a decision. "Obviously with the rehab assignment we're sort of up against it now so we've got to make a decision and figure out where we're at," he added.

Maybe we're reading a little too much into it, but that doesn't seem incredibly enthusiastic.

If Sasaki does come back, it's pretty clear that he'll only appear in a relief capacity. The Dodgers definitely need bullpen help (and pretty much all of their arms are just as unreliable as Sasaki right now), and the rotation is full. But if the Dodgers are satisfied with Justin Wrobleski, Jack Dreyer, and Edgardo Henriquez — the only bullpen arms who can be optioned — would they really clear one of them out for a guy who's been injured and hasn't pitched well when he's healthy?

The Dodgers would no doubt love to kick the can down the road a little further on a Sasaki decision, but they have to make one soon, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if they call it a day on his rookie season.