Dodgers News: Roki Sasaki’s Shocking Tommy John Surgery Revelation From 4 Years Ago Gives a Big Headache to LA

Roki Sasaki was one of the biggest names this off-season. A pitcher as stellar as him, and not costing an arm and a leg, is rare. Heck, he is compared to be as good as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and his contract from the Los Angeles Dodgers sits at $325 million. Ouch for the Dodgers, right? But lucky for them, they were the ones who ended up winning the Sasaki sweepstakes. Many didn’t think they would, since the San Diego Padres were in hot pursuit. Not to forget that they had Yu Darvish, known to be the god-father of Sasaki. (his own words).

However, this story has a curveball no one saw coming! Roki Sasaki, because of who many see LA as the evil empire right now, revealed he has a secret. The pitcher revealed during his introductory press conference last week: that he was once told he might need Tommy John surgery.

Yes, he was just eighteen then, and the doctors advised him to go under the knife. He didn’t, but that scare played a huge role in his decision to jump into MLB sooner than later, as per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

Hernandez mentioned, “Sasaki never had the operation, but the incident shaped his thinking. Years later, he found himself thinking about how he didn’t want to risk suffering a career-altering injury before pitching in the world’s most competitive league.” Sasaki admitted that he heard many voices and that he should have waited two more years. Probably get a better deal and then enjoy it on the biggest platform for baseball. But he said, “But there are, of course, no guarantees about my condition in those two years.” 

However, that decision did cost Roki Sasaki much. Instead of a huge deal, the 23-year-old player signed a deal that’s less than $7 million. Now here is where things get tricky—Sasaki’s past elbow issues were actually caused by a shoulder problem. And with a career-high of 129.1 innings in Japan, no one knows how durable he will be.

The LA Dodgers are a great team, and they have a stacked rotation. There is Sasaki, Yamamoto, Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and Tony Gonsolin—but they will likely use a six-man setup to keep everyone fresh. But the real question is, will Sasaki’s health be a problem for LA? Well, it can be!

Is Roki Sasaki the next big Dodger risk? 

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been getting plenty of backlash this offseason. Accusations of how they are clinching all the superstars with their load of money have made the rounds. The evil empire is what others think they are building. However, while the roster going in looks like an absolute powerhouse, heading to spring training, there is a shadow hanging over them—injuries.

Just look at last season. Emmet Sheehan was supposed to be a key piece of the rotation but didn’t throw a single pitch in the Cactus League before being shut down with arm soreness. Then by mid-May, he was undergoing Tommy John surgery! But that’s not all. There were several others who more or less had the same fate. Gavin Stone, Kyle Hurt, and River Ryan all followed. All this while, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin were in recovery from the same thing.

Plus, even Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, and Clayton Kershaw were absent for a long time. Now Sasaki coming to the lineup sure is an add-on, but his past is concerning. His 2024 season was marred in Japan by his arm discomfort. Now the LA Dodgers sold the 23-year-old on their ability to restore his velocity dip last year. But it has its risks. Pushing for power leads to more stress on the arm. And Sasaki has already been suggested the Tommy John surgery. So it could be brutal if things go haywire. Right now it seems the LA Dodgers are planning to ease him in with a once-a-week schedule.

However, they have a history of pitchers dropping like flies. So Dodgers fans will be wondering if next time Sasaki will be the one to go down. What do you think?