The Dodgers are getting healthier at just the right time, and the next wave of returns could reshape how they line up for October.
Roki Sasaki is the closest to coming back. Manager Dave Roberts said the right-hander is nearing a return from the injured list after missing a few weeks with a blister issue on his pitching hand, and when he’s activated this week, he’ll do it as a reliever.
There had been some discussion about giving him one more start, but that route is off the table now. Sasaki is expected back for the Dodgers’ next series against the Padres, which begins tomorrow.
That move makes sense for where the Dodgers are headed. Sasaki has been a starter all season, making 23 appearances and logging a 4.60 ERA across 119 1/3 innings, but the underlying gains have been real.
His strikeout rate has climbed from 17.4% in 2025 to 22.9% this season, while his walk rate has dropped from 13.7% to 9.4%. He’s also getting more swing-and-miss, with his swinging-strike rate jumping from 8.7% to 13.5%, and hitters are chasing more often, up from 22.3% to 33.3%.
The contact quality has backed that up too. Opponents have seen their average exit velocity dip from 90.6 mph to 89.6, and their hard-hit rate has fallen from 45.4% to 43.1%.
Sasaki’s four-seamer is already sitting 1.7 mph harder this year, at 97.8 mph, and the shorter bursts of relief should only help that number tick up again. It’s not unfamiliar territory for him, either.
He worked mostly as a starter in his rookie season in 2025 before moving to the bullpen last October, and even though the regular season was rough, he was excellent in the postseason, allowing one run on six hits and five walks over 10 2/3 innings.
Shohei Ohtani is also close. Roberts said the two-way star could return as soon as Wednesday, and the Dodgers are hoping to get him back in the lineup for the final five games of the regular season. That matters because the minor league season is over, which means Ohtani can’t simply head to Triple-A for a rehab assignment.
Roberts and Ohtani had both said earlier this month that there was little to no chance of him returning to the mound this season. He’s been dealing with left knee and right biceps issues, with the knee keeping him off the mound since July and the biceps problem affecting his swing for several weeks before he was finally placed on the 15-day injured list a couple weeks ago.
Before things went quiet, Ohtani had put together a nine-game hitting streak and collected multiple hits in six of 11 games from late July into early August. After that, the bat cooled fast. Over 113 plate appearances from Aug. 7 through Sept. 7, he hit .194/.301/.388 with a 30.1% strikeout rate.
Andy Pages should be next in line to rejoin the club. Doug Padilla reported that the center fielder is expected to be reinstated from the injured list before tomorrow’s opener against the Padres, which lines up with previous reports that he could get a few games in before the postseason begins.
Blake Snell’s situation is less clear. The left-hander hasn’t gone on the injured list, but he left his last start last Thursday after just one inning because of groin discomfort. Padilla reported that Snell won’t pitch against the Padres, though he still hasn’t been ruled out for the season’s final series.
That series takes the Dodgers to San Francisco for three games against the Giants beginning Friday, and if Snell can get through a start there without trouble, he’d still have time to reset before October. The Dodgers have effectively locked up a bye through the Wild Card round, which means Snell likely wouldn’t need to pitch again until Oct. 3, the scheduled date for Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
Snell has only made eight starts and thrown 38 2/3 innings this season because of injuries, but when he’s been on the mound, he’s been dominant. He owns a 1.86 ERA and a 33.1% strikeout rate. If he’s healthy, he would join Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow in a rotation built to chase MLB’s first threepeat since the 1998-2000 Yankees.
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