Roki Sasaki Is No Longer Lost In Translation, Finding His Swagger And Delivering Wins

Roki Sasaki, it turns out, tin beryllium rather nan jokester.

In opposition to nan 24-year-old right-hander’s much reserved demeanor connected nan mound and successful postgame interviews, those who person gotten to cognize him during nan past twelvemonth and a half pinch nan Dodgers person been treated to a different broadside of him.

“He talks a batch of trash,” Dodgers spot and conditioning coach Travis Smith told The Times this week, pinch a smile. “He’s not quiet astatine all.”

It’s easy to hide that Sasaki’s commencement Friday against nan Angels will beryllium only his 30th major-league appearance, regular play and postseason combined. And he only had 4 years of Nippon Professional Baseball acquisition earlier deciding to time off Japan, posting early and signing arsenic an world amateur free supplier past year, arsenic Shohei Ohtani did successful 2017.

Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki throws from nan mound during a crippled against nan Giants connected May 11.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

It’s each still truthful caller for a young subordinate navigating a monolithic alteration connected and disconnected nan field. So, nan Dodgers expected increasing pains. And aft digging successful their heels connected nan determination to fto him activity done those successful nan rotation to statesman his sophomore season, they’ve been rewarded pinch a steadier type of Sasaki done nan period of May (3.18 ERA), pinch still much room to grow, and stronger connection betwixt nan 2 sides.

“Obviously, there’s a batch of talent there,” manager Dave Roberts said. “There was a batch of anticipation successful getting him complete here. But he still hasn’t sounded a full batch of master innings, and he’s still young.

“And truthful I do deliberation that … we’re astir apt benignant of over-expecting from Roki astatine an early stage. But for him, I wouldn’t opportunity he would work together pinch our return and that’s a bully point from nan athlete.”

For immoderate player, transitioning from NPB to MLB requires countless adjustments, ample and small. They scope from nan connection and customs, to nan schedule and travel, to nan competition, to nan shot itself.

Sasaki, successful a caller speech pinch The Times done expert Kensuke Okubo, highlighted 2 differences that person felt particularly jarring.

1. MLB teams want to cognize astir each beingness ailment their players are dealing pinch successful existent time.

Sasaki had first-hand acquisition pinch this 1 past play erstwhile he wounded his shoulder.

In Japan, if he were to emblem discomfort successful his shoulder, Sasaki said, nan coaching staff’s consequence would beryllium to constituent retired that everyone’s dealing pinch aches and pains, truthful he doesn’t person to bring it up.

“But here, if thing happens to your body, you person to show them correct away,” Sasaki said. “You don’t want to hide it.”

2. Americans put a precocious accent connected assurance successful their master athletes.

Breaking down what went correct successful a bad outing (along pinch what went wrong) during postgame interviews has been caller for Sasaki.

In Japan, aft a unsmooth start, he didn’t consciousness nan request to talk astir metallic linings.

“Nobody tells you astir nan culture,” Sasaki said. “So I couldn’t really show what you guys wanted successful an interview, aliases erstwhile I talked to you guys. So, if I knew that benignant of worldly earlier, past I could person reacted successful a different way, truthful that I could make you guys understand a small more.”

Edgardo Henriquez, left, bumps fists pinch Roki Sasaki successful nan dugout astatine Dodger Stadium connected May 14.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)

For guidance, he’s leaned connected Smith and Will Ireton, nan Dodgers’ head of Japanese subordinate operations and strategy and Ohtani’s interpreter.

What’s nan champion proposal he’s received from them?

“In Japan, being humble is … really important,” Sasaki said. “So immoderate happens, and immoderate I do, I’ve sewage to beryllium humble. But here, erstwhile you make it, you person to beryllium like, ‘I’m nan one.’ It’s not showing off, but you don’t person to beryllium really humble. You’ve sewage to show what you’ve got.”

Whether it’s nan amended results, aliases a displacement successful mindset, Sasaki has, indeed, seemed to transportation himself pinch a touch much swagger lately.

“Guys emotion him,” Roberts said. “Guys really for illustration Roki.”

In summation to teammates, Sasaki has grown adjacent pinch nan Dodgers bullpen catchers, Hamlet Marte and Francisco Herrera. He picked up immoderate Spanish from Latino teammates successful Japan that he uses to thief span nan connection barrier.

“We’ve been trying to make him consciousness comfortable,” Herrera said. “So it’s a bully point that he’s opening up a lot.”

Marte, who catches Sasaki astir often, tin beryllium spotted shouting to Sasaki successful Japanese from crossed nan clubhouse aliases moving done move stretches pinch him earlier broadside sessions. Anime has been an successful pinch Sasaki for some of them, Herrera said.

Many of those now adjacent to Sasaki are protective of nan blossoming MLB starter — who endured nan decease of his begetter successful a tsunami astatine a young age and has already weathered extended extracurricular criticism successful his master shot profession — arsenic he navigates this caller chapter.

“I told him astatine nan very beginning,” Smith said, “you’ve conscionable sewage to instrumentality pinch us, beryllium confident, and cognize who you are. And erstwhile you’re raising that trophy astatine nan extremity of nan year, I retrieve I told you this.”

Most of nan convention recognized Saski’s talent successful nan past years of his NPB career. Before nan Dodgers signed him successful January 2025, two-thirds of nan teams successful MLB sent successful first pitches, according to his supplier Joel Wolfe. Because Sasaki hadn’t waited to participate regular free agency, arsenic Yoshinobu Yamamoto had erstwhile he inked a 12-year statement worthy $325 cardinal pinch Dodgers, squad finances didn’t limit nan field.

Sasaki’s modulation to MLB, however, was interrupted by what nan Dodgers called a correct enarthrosis impingement. Just 8 starts into nan season, he was sidelined, and pulled retired of nan accustomed rhythm of in-game feedback followed by meetings and broadside activity pinch nan coaching staff.

Dodgers near fielder Teoscar Hernández pats pitcher Roki Sasaki connected nan caput successful betwixt innings astatine Dodger Stadium connected May 11.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

“I don’t want to overplay it, but I don’t want to undersell it [either],” pitching coach Mark Prior said. “When you’re pitching and you’re successful it, there’s backmost and forth, there’s much speech that happens about, ‘What is nan crippled yet telling you?’ … Ultimately, for america to get everybody collectively successful nan correct spot, it takes clip of learning each different successful those moments.”

They yet sewage again successful precocious September and into nan offseason, albeit successful a different role.

Sasaki thrived coming retired of nan bullpen successful nan eighth and ninth innings, allowing conscionable 1 earned tally successful 9 postseason appearances.

“That helped maine build a bully narration pinch nan coaches,” Sasaki said.

Back successful nan rotation, Sasaki’s conversations pinch nan coaching unit person shifted, compared to this clip past year.

“This year, especially, I consciousness for illustration we’re focusing connected talking astir crippled scheme and sequencing, because I consciousness patient correct now,” Sasaki said. “Last twelvemonth I sewage hurt, truthful I’m reasoning astir my mechanics, each that stuff. So this is simply a large quality correct now.”

Roberts noticed nan alteration agelong earlier Sasaki’s beardown May performance.

“The spot connected some sides has continued to get stronger,” Roberts said successful early April. “And that’s understandable. That takes time. He and nan pitching coaches are having overmuch much dialogue. He’s expressing his thoughts, which has been great. And I deliberation we’re seeing nan benefits.”

Since then, nan fruits of that evolving narration person included a new, harder splitter, and moreover much recently, an uptick successful fastball velocity.

And remember, it’s still conscionable nan beginning.