The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently preparing for the upcoming 2026 MLB season, which is slated to begin later this month. The Dodgers are looking to win their third straight World Series championship, having defeated the New York Yankees in 2024 and the Toronto Blue Jays in a thrilling seven games in 2025.
One of the brightest young stars on the Dodgers' roster is Roki Sasaki, the 24 year-old who signed with Los Angeles prior to the 2025 season and had a solid first campaign in the MLB.
Recently, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts got 100% real on how he envisions Sasaki fitting into the Dodgers' rotation heading into this season.
“I don't see a world in which Roki Sasaki doesn't [open the season] as a starter,” said Rodgers, per Jack Vita of the Los Angeles Times on X, formerly Twitter.
Sasaki was one of the many Dodgers pitchers who dealt with injury troubles last year, at one point going on the 60-day injured list due to a shoulder injury.
However, he came back during the team's playoff run, earning his first professional save in their series against the Philadelphia Phillies, and also appearing in two games during the World Series, pitching 2 and 2/3 innings.
The hope is that Sasaki will be able to stay healthier this year and continue his ascent into potential MLB stardom.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers found a way to get demonstrably better this offseason despite their status as the reigning World Series champions by bringing in both Edwin Diaz and Kyle Tucker in free agency, drawing an uproar from the rest of the MLB landscape in the process. Los Angeles will be looking to add a third straight World Series, and fourth in the last sixth years, this season.
The Dodgers' title defense is set to get underway later this month with a home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
