The Los Angeles Dodgers, with their stacked starting rotation, have plenty of leeway when it comes to who starts in the playoffs. Shohei Ohtani and Blake Snell, along with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, make up one of baseball’s best rotations.
Other than those four, there’s one young pitcher who’s come into his own in a new role. Roki Sasaki, after a lackluster rookie year as a starter, cut short due to injury, has come back as a reliever for Los Angeles. In this new role, he’s thrived.
With the Dodgers up 2-0 on the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has announced a firm decision regarding Sasaki’s role going forward. Roberts reveals that Sasaki is now the team’s primary closer this October.
The Dodgers announce Roki Sasaki as the new primary closer
Bob Nightengale of USA Today shared the announcement from Roberts on Sasaki: “Roki Sasaki is now the primary option to pitch in the 9th inning, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says.”
Roki Sasaki is now the primary option to pitch in the 9th inning, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 7, 2025
This is a huge step in the right direction for Los Angeles. Sasaki has seen his starting rotation spot disappear, but his new role in the bullpen has been an incredible situation for the rookie right-hander.
So far, Sasaki had made five relief appearances in the Major League. Two of those outings came in the regular season, in which he got the 7th inning, and shut down the opponent with two strikeouts and no baserunners in both outings.
Then, he got his first crack at the 9th inning role against the Cincinnati Reds, where he struck out two more batters and finished the Dodgers’ Wild Card win over the Reds.
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Next came a real test in the Phillies, and in Game 1 of the NLDS, Sasaki passed with flying colors. He struck out one batter, allowed a double to Max Kepler, but stranded him at third by inducing a groundout and a pop fly to secure his first big league save.
Game 2 saw the Dodgers once again call upon Sasaki to finish the game, and he got the one out needed to secure the 2-0 advantage over the Phillies in the NLDS, with the series shifting back to Los Angeles.
His five outings in a relief role have been incredible, and there wasn’t much of a question about where he should be used going forward. With Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen struggling in the bullpen and the rest of the relievers being more of an unknown, the Dodgers needed someone to step up.
And fortunately, Sasaki has. He’s now the team’s closer going forward for the remainder of the playoffs, and while he could return to the rotation next season, for now, the Dodgers have an electric closer on the roster to help go for back-to-back World Series championships.
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