There seems no end to the buzz around Roki Sasaki. Reportedly, with Sasaki joining the Dodgers, he is at the receiving end of the fans’ mire and is majorly facing heat for selecting the team. It also came to light that before joining the Dodgers, Sasaki shared a “homework assignment” as he says, to at least eight teams to check their response. Yes! The Japanese phenom asked each of these teams to answer why his fastball velocity dropped last year and how to rectify it. But what’s the purpose?

It seems he was to select his team based on the responses, and now that he has joined the Dodgers, they might have given the most accurate response for Sasaki. However, he is facing the heat because the team is known for frequent injuries to their pitchers. Contradicting, right? Yes, the fans think so! Moreover, the question arises, are the Dodgers a good fit for Sasaki?

Dodgers, a logical fit for Roki Sasaki?

Well, with the homework assignments by Sasaki, it seems that he is very serious about his pitches and will surely not be a guy to cut short his career. Now, the objective of the Dodgers in taking Sasaki is to ensure the supply line behind their key pitchers. With Ohtani already having surgeries, they need quality pitchers to support. From the perspective of Sasaki, he is going to share the dressing room with Ohtani and Yamamoto. So yes, a comfort base for Roki Sasaki in his very first debut in MLB. But, is he all safe with the Dodgers?

Well, nothing matters as such because, at the end of the day, Sasaki is a human being and hard pitching can pose injuries at any point in time. Be it with the Dodgers or any other team, pitchers are more prone to injuries. However, yes, with the Dodgers focusing more on hard pitches and throwing at maximum speed, the chance of injuries may get high for the players. Again, it is all up to Sasaki, how he will manage his workload. 

With Sasaki in place, the Dodgers are now a formidable force in the 2025 season, and with some good names in pitching, he will have the required support. Fans will only hope that Roki Sasaki can continue his form this year as well and may stay away from the injuries.

Fans are not convinced with Sasaki

Sasaki has been facing the heat ever since he joined the Dodgers a couple of days ago, but it all got amplified with the news of him sharing homework assignments with the teams. “Don’t worry about his fastball worry about his arm falling” said a fan while referring to the history of the Dodgers with most injuries. Some fans are almost certain that Roki Sasaki will also get injuries.

“So naturally he picked the organization known for elbow surgeries. Smart guy!” remarked another. Again referring to the injury-ridden history of the Dodgers. Well, the Dodgers got the first place with the most disabled players for two consecutive years and they ended 2024 with 25 disabled players. 

A fan said, “Dodgers answer is easy..have Tommy John and be out so it can’t go down”. For the unversed, recently Shohei Ohtani has had his second ‘Tommy John’ aka elbow surgery mainly due to his hard pitches. So, fans are wondering how Sasaki, who was so concerned about his velocity drop, can join a team with such history.

“Sasaki now got everyone’s opinion on this and can take it to the dodgers who were always his choice,” remarked a fan. The ‘homework’ surely was an advantage for Roki Sasaki, as he got a few expert opinions about managing his velocity. 

About Sasaki’s potential future with the Dodgers, a fan said, “His days of throwing 102 are over”. So, Sasaki came to the limelight with his 102mph pitches at NPB, which might now get affected by the Dodgers. It seems that fans are equally tensed about the future of Sasaki with the Dodgers along with being frustrated about his choosing. Nevertheless, what will be the future of Sasaki with the Dodgers, and even if the fans are correct, why Sasaki has chosen the Dodgers then? Well, that’s an answer only he has.