Dodgers fans have had to take anything Dave Roberts says about Roki Sasaki with a grain of salt. The same can be said for most of Roberts' injury updates, really, but Sasaki and Blake Snell are the two biggest question marks for LA. Snell is currently in Single-A on a rehab assignment, so he's on his way, but it's been unclear if Sasaki's entire rookie season will turn out to be a wash or not.
Roberts said at one point that the Dodgers were going to plan on life without him for the rest of the season, only to turn around with a promising update hours later and give fans hope that he actually would be back sometime this year. It's gone back and forth with very little actual progress being made, but now there's finally some movement.
Per Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic, Sasaki has started throwing bullpen sessions and isn't feeling any pain. Roberts even provided a loose timeline for a return in late August.
We've seen how easily Dodgers pitchers can backslide in the early stages of their rehabs — both Snell and Tyler Glasnow have already done it this year — but it's the first time that Roberts has actually been able to put something resembling a date on a return. for Sasaki.
Dave Roberts said Roki Sasaki has started throwing bullpen sessions and is feeling pain-free. Brought up a late August timetable for him.
Dave Roberts reveals tentative late-August timeline for Roki Sasaki's return to Dodgers
As ugly as the last few weeks have been for the Dodgers, nothing really matters until the postseason. The Padres have slid to 5.5 games back going into the break; it's still not a guarantee that the Dodgers will end up winning the NL West, especially if they suffer any more seven-game skids. But LA's chances of winning the World Series are still higher than any other team in baseball. They just need to get Sasaki a few more regular season starts in September to prepare him for October.
There are also high personal stakes in this for Sasaki, who has already been written off as a bust by opposing fans after accumulating a 4.72 ERA in 34 1/3 innings and really making it look like the Dodgers made a mistake not starting him the minors.
We've seen what Sasaki can do under pressure on an international stage, when he threw up to 102 MPH in the World Baseball Classic and earned comparisons to a young Stephen Strasburg. Dodgers fans are still waiting to see that guy, and becoming that guy in the postseason would be the perfect way for Sasaki to redeem himself.
