The Los Angeles Dodgers won the Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes in the offseason, but he has not panned out as the team had hoped.

Sasaki was a superstar in Japan as a starter. The Dodgers hoped he would continue dominating in MLB. However, he had a 4.72 ERA through eight big league starts. The Dodgers eventually placed him on the injured list with a shoulder injury amid a dip in velocity.

The Dodgers now plan to have him pitch out of the bullpen in hopes of him contributing in October. He pitched well out of the bullpen during his rehab assignment. However, there may not be a path for him back into the starting rotation.

The Dodgers have Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Emmet Sheehan under contract for years to come. Sasaki could bounce back as a starter, but FanSided’s Henry Palattella thinks the Dodgers could trade him and that Sasaki has played himself out of the team’s plans for next season.

“He still has two more seasons left before he’s eligible for arbitration, so his value as a trade chip may never be as high as it is right now,” wrote Palattella. “It would be a tough pill to swallow a year after the Dodgers signed him, but it may be the best thing for the future of the franchise. If he isn’t literally gone next season, he has at least shown that he cannot be counted on or penciled into any formal plans. The rotation has been just fine without him.”

The Dodgers had high hopes for Sasaki, and early returns indicate that he may not be a star in MLB. Regardless of whether he bounces back or not, the Dodgers may not view him as a better option than any of their current starters. Rather than keeping a valuable arm like that as depth or in the bullpen, the Dodgers could trade him to a team that is willing to give up prospects in hopes of developing him into an ace.

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