Roki Sasaki will operate as the Dodgers’ “primary option” in save situations, manager Dave Roberts told reporters this evening (relayed by Jack Harris of The Los Angeles Times). Roberts hedged on calling the rookie righty his full-time closer, noting that they can’t ask Sasaki to pitch in every game.
The Dodgers tried to avoid using Sasaki last night in Philadelphia. L.A. took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning with a chance to take a 2-0 series advantage. Roberts called upon Blake Treinen to handle the ninth. Treinen promptly surrendered hits to Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos to put the tying run on second without recording an out. Roberts then turned to southpaw Alex Vesia with left-handed hitting Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler due up.
Vesia recorded two outs, including a force play on Castellanos at third when the Phils called for Stott to sacrifice. Roberts finally turned to Sasaki to face Trea Turner with runners on the corners and two away in a 4-3 game. He got a grounder to second to earn the save. It was the first time in his MLB career that he was called upon in the middle of an inning.
Sasaki has now finished three of the Dodgers’ four postseason games. He wrapped up the Wild Card Series by tossing a scoreless ninth inning to complete a 8-4 win over the Reds. That wasn’t a save situation but was essentially treated as such with a chance to lock down the series and get two off days before the start of the Philly series. Sasaki got his first save in Game 1 of the NLDS, tossing a scoreless ninth to close a 5-3 victory.
The bullpen is the biggest question as the Dodgers try to repeat as World Series winners. Vesia is their only traditional reliever who has been a lockdown presence this year. Treinen allowed 10 earned runs across 9 1/3 innings in September and certainly looked beatable in Game 2. Tanner Scott, the primary closer for most of the year, allowed a 4.74 ERA over 61 regular season appearances. The Dodgers haven’t used him in the playoffs yet. Converted starters Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan have gotten high-leverage work. Roberts also called on Tyler Glasnow for an inning and two thirds out of the bullpen in Game 1 of the NLDS. Glasnow would start Game 4 if the Phils can stave off elimination tomorrow night.
Very fortunate they learned the lesson Treinen is cooked in a win
Starting pitchers or bust. Dodgers in 3.
He was pretty decent before September, albeit in only 17 innings or so. I wonder if he is (again) injured and pitching anyway.
I think Treinan might be good again next year. But for 2025, Dodgers should take their chances with Sasaki, Sheehan, Vesia and Kershaw rather than Tteinan or Scott.
Yamamoto, Snell, Ohtani and Glasnow are a formidable group even if Snell and Glasnow are oft-injured.
Only two years and $40 million left on that Scott contract
3 more years and $41MM plus deferals
Scott had a 4.25 xERA and 3.43 SIERRA that provides some basis for thinking he is not totally cooked. But, yeah, he was bad this year.
We just need to get him to do enough so we can trade him in the off season.
Although to be fair, most of his issues seem to be mental. Everyone thinks they are ready for the expectations of being a Dodger. Scott, and even moreso Yates, really felt like they were always pitching not to lose. Which of course is counterproductive.
If Scott can contribute to winning in the postseason in any way, I think it’ll serve him well in the upcoming season. His stuff looks good, his mentality doesn’t.
Scott does seem to need an emotional reset. He’s already said that this has been the worst year of his life. Not a good headspace for any player.
I never thought Scott would be a good closer as an O’s fan but this version of Scott is a different kind of bad. I thought he’d never stop having serious control issues. But I never doubted him being able to walk 3 guys and strike out the next 3.
This version of Scott has control but is getting hit like I’ve never seen before.
lol no team in their right mind is trading for Scott without LA covering a majority of the contract
Not the current version of Scott.
But just this last off-season fans of every other team were angry the Dodgers signed him and took him off the market.
If we can get him back to his previous form then he has came both to the Dodgers, and to other teams.
But he’s had a bad season. Even if he pitches lights out for a handful of innings the rest of the postseason that is not going to be enough for some team to want that.
The same fans that were annoyed also recognized that you paid way too much for the guy
The Dodgers flexed their financial muscles last offseason and gave him a contract no other team would match.
Even if he has an all-time postseason, there isn’t a team that would look at his season and both take on the contract and give up even remotely valuable assets.
Would you want the Dodgers parting with prospects and/or taking on his money?
Just as a point of order, whenever a team signs a free agent, it is because they offered him a contract no other team would match.
That said, the Dodgers are not going to try to trade Scott. I’m sure they have all sorts of ideas about what went wrong for him this season and will work with him on turning the page.
I agree with the above, and was being somewhat facetious.
They obviously saw something prior to signing him that they liked. And I can’t imagine it’s something they can’t fix over the offseason. The arm and the stuff looks good. The work just has to be done on the peripherals
Every Dodger fan fudged their huggies when Clueless Dave started the 9th with Treinen. Oh my how lucky things worked out for us Dodger fans though. Dave is so terrible as a manager. He’s just always been given a great team.
“Every Dodger fan
…given a great team”..Great, Uber talented teams always make the manager look good.
When’s the last time anyone called a last place team’s manager “great”. That being said, Dave Robert’s a fairly standard manager who’s been given a great team.
Roberts was trying to find another arm to use moving forward. He made the move to bring in Treinen and got his answer.
While i had concerns when he called on Treinen, but there was enough buffer as long as he didn’t give up more than a couple runs. It was worth finding out now what he would be getting. I think mentally Treinen is good. But his arm is still not recovered from carrying such a heavy load in last years postseason.
He didn’t bring in Scott, who’s arm seems ok but his mentality isn’t right.
We knew from the regular season that Treinen was busted now. Dave didn’t need the post season to figure that out. He just has an affinity for “his guys” and will go to them regardless.
Andy Friedman has an affinity for “his guys” and won’t trade to replace them regardless.
Fixed that for you.
Treinen obviously didn’t have much, but the outcome wasn’t lucky, it was the result of baseball fundamentals of a kind we don’t see very often anymore. In the mound meeting before Treinen was pulled, Mookie Betts, expecting a bunt from Stott, suggested a wheel play. This play is used so infrequently anymore it isn’t even practiced. Roberts took the suggestion. It was executed perfectly. Cutting down the baserunner on third was the play that made the game. And that ain’t luck, it’s good baseball.
So a bag of baseballs or the players only could manage this team
Um, what?
BSLA
Part of the game is always luck
Part of the game is always skill
Part of the game is waiting for a good pitch to hit and not missing it. I’ve got a lot more fine baseball cliches, if you don’t feel like you hear enough of them in postgame interviews.
Seriously, one of the beauties of this game is when a difficult play is made to look easy. You have to guess right, then execute. One doesn’t work without the other.
It wasn’t a force play as it was described in this posting.
It also wasn’t the 3rd out as mookie thought on the force at 2nd
Uh, what?
No, sorry, he was running the ball home since there was a guy on third.
Been a pretty pathetic showing for the Phillies bullpen.
Get the box of tissue ready
For the Boston Bruins missing the NHL Playoffs this year? Good thing you reminded yourself, but this is a baseball article.
Where’s the smart guy on here who was citing Sasaki’s ERA from his small sample of innings as a starter this year as a reason he’d be ineffective as a reliever in the postseason?
Right next to the smart guys citing: ERA ever, Roki’s ERA over 2 innings, etc…
Every article about pitching here or anywhere else cites a pitcher’s ERA.
They shouldn’t.
And Roki’s ERA over his first 37 (or whatever innings) is at least as relevant as his ERA over his last 2 innings
Good luck with that. Despite what anyone claims, nobody has created a single, perfect statistic to represent pitching or any other aspect of the game. This has little or nothing to do with whether Sasaki has a sufficient track record in MLB to judge the current state of his ability to perform. More important than any stat in his case is the informed judgment of his coaches and trainers.