Toronto Blue Jays got lucky when Roki Sasaki chose Los Angeles Dodgers
Photo credit: Los Angeles Dodgers - https://www.mlb.com/dodgers
It's starting to look like the Toronto Blue Jays may have sidestepped a complicated development project, as Roki Sasaki has struggled mightily this spring.
Just over a year ago, the Blue Jays came up short in its pursuit of the highly touted Japanese right-hander.
At the time, the loss stung. Sasaki had been strongly linked to the Blue Jays before ultimately signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the 2025 season.
But with the benefit of hindsight, that near miss may have worked in Toronto's favor.
Sasaki's spring struggles continued Monday night against the Angels, where he issued six walks in just over two innings of work.
He began each of his four innings with either a walk or a hit-by-pitch, and of his 66 total pitches, only 32 found the strike zone.
Roki Sasaki has been pulled off the mound early for the second time in his last Spring start for the Dodgers.
2 K
6 BB
4 ER
0 H
2 HBP
66 Pitches
2 IP
2 K
6 BB
4 ER
0 H
2 HBP
66 Pitches
2 IP
Despite the rough outing, manager Dave Roberts indicated that Sasaki is still expected to start the Dodgers' fourth game of the regular season against Cleveland.
However, his issues haven't been isolated to just one spring appearance. In his outing against Cleveland on march 3, Sasaki failed to record a single out.
He walked three batters in the first inning before surrendering a grand slam, forcing an early exit.
Roki Sasaki was pulled off the mound in the first inning of the Dodgers vs Guardians game. He gave up a grand slam, couldn't record a single out, only logged 8 strikes and walked 3 batters.
Dodgers have a complicated development situation on their hands
Across four spring appearances, he posted a staggering 15.58 ERA-numbers that have clearly impacted his confidence.
While his Opening Day role may not matter in the long term, it seems increasingly likely that Sasaki will need time in the minor leagues to reset and rebuild.
By the looks of it, the 24-year-old right-hander will have to go back to square one, and the Dodgers might have to invest years in him before he does anything for them at the major-league level.
This couldn't be what the Dodgers had in mind when they signed him before last season.
Their visions of him winning a Cy Young Award, their comparisons of him to Paul Skenes, all of that feels remarkably distant now.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays enter the 2026 season with a deep and stable starting rotation, supported by multiple viable options.
In contrast to the uncertainty surrounding Sasaki's early MLB career, Toronto's pitching situation appears far more settled-and perhaps better off for how things ultimately played out.
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