9:31pm: Roberts struck a much more optimistic tone regarding Sasaki after this evenings game, as . Roberts emphasized that Sasaki is pain-free and already moving around before going on to suggest that he should be able to resume building up his rehab proce s soon. While his tone regarding the young right-hander was significantly more optimistic than earlier in the day, he still provided few specifics regarding the rightys status or when hell resume his throwing program. 3:41pm: Rookie right-hander is no longer throwing due to him not feeling comfortable with his shoulder when throwing at full intensity, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including ) this afternoon. Sasaki has been on the injured list due to a for just over a month, but it doesnt sound as if hes likely to return anytime soon. adds that the Dodgers have no timeline for Sasakis return to throwing, while Ardaya suggests that Roberts comments indicated that Sasakis return to the mound in 2025 may not be guaranteed. The news doesnt change any short term plans for the Dodgers, as he wasnt nece sarily expected to return in the near future even before todays news. notes that Sasaki did not have an estimated return date and had not yet progre sed beyond playing light catch as of last week. While pitching coach Trevor Ariza Jersey Mark Prior noted at that time ( ) that Sasaki was pain-free, he noted even then that the phenom hadnt progre sed enough to start ramping up the intensity of his fastball and that Sasaki must be confident in his ability to throw the baseball before his rehab can proceed. Roberts told reporters (including ) that he would defer to Sasaki in describing the i sue. As far as kind of the sensation, Roberts said, as relayed by Royer. Its discomfort. I dont think its pain, its tightne s whatever the adjective you want to use I would rather him kind of say that. Regardle s of the specific verbiage surrounding Sasakis stalled rehab, its clear he and the Dodgers were not seeing the sort of results they were looking for. As a result, the right-hander will be shut down from throwing for an indefinite period, though it appears that no additional testing on Sasakis shoulder is planned at this time. That suggests the Dodgers are at least confident they know what the problem is, but its still somewhat worrisome that the club could not say with confidence that Sasaki would return to the big league mound this season. If Sasaki doesnt return to the mound this year, it will be hard to view his rookie campaign as anything other than a disappointing one. The right-hander has made eight starts for the Dodgers, pitching to a 4.72 ERA (84 ERA+) in 34 1/3 innings of work acro s those outings. Thats not too far off from an average back-end starter at first glance, but Sasaki walked (22) nearly as many hitters as he struck out (24) and recorded an out in the sixth inning just twice while failing to record an out in the fifth inning four times. That combination of poor results, worse peripherals, and lack of volume made for a pretty bleak debut for Sasaki, particularly given his elite pedigree as one of the most talented young arms in the entire world. Of course, the other side of that coin is that his talented hasnt mysteriously disappeared. Eight starts is far too small of a sample to judge a pitcher on, and Sasakis bonafides as a potential top-of-the-rotation talent speak for themselves. Hes got some of the nastiest stuff in the entire sport, and posted a 2.10 ERA with a 32.7% strikeout rate acro s four NPB seasons. That includes an otherworldly 2023 where he pitched to a 1.78 ERA in 91 innings of work while striking out 39.1% of his opponents. Those huge strikeout numbers are particularly eye-popping when one considers the propensity towards contact found in NPB play, further adding to the pile of evidence that Sasakis future figures to be a very bright one. All of that is why the Dodgers committed virtually their entire international bonus pool budget to signing him this winter in a sweepstakes that ultimately came down to Los Angeles, San Diego, and Toronto. While that investment hasnt paid off yet, the young righty is still just 23 years old and will have plenty of opportunities to show off his talent in the future so long as he can get healthy enough to return to the mound. Perhaps that can happen as soon as later this season, but for now hell remain on the shelf alongside a bevy of other key Dodgers arms like , , , and . The Dodgers are currently relying on , , , , and the soon-to-be-activated to hold down the fort while most of the clubs Opening Day rotation is unavailable. Pau Gasol Jersey