After four months on the injured list, Roki Sasaki is back with the Dodgers in a perfect combination of necessity and opportunity. Starting pitching was all he’s ever known as a professional before last week, but the Dodgers bullpen is capsizing at the moment, and could use all the help it can get.

When we last saw Sasaki in the majors, his fastball wasn’t missing bats and his control was bad. His final rehab start in Triple-A showed promise, and he added a pair of scoreless innings in relief last week as a tune up for his potential contribution the rest of the way this season. Whatever was said in the meeting between Sasaki and Dodgers brass two weeks ago, it seems obvious that the main message was that if he still wants to pitch in the majors in 2025, the only path to do so is in the bu

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