Mariners' whiff on Roki Sasaki looks like a blessing amid Dodgers drama

Of all the things Seattle Mariners fans could have had on their bingo cards last winter, the club's failed pursuit of Roki Sasaki going from a bummer to a relief in just one year wasn't an option.

Sasaki was one of the big prizes of the 2024-25 offseason, and the Mariners were one of many (i.e., all 30 of them) teams that were interested in signing him as an amateur out of Japan. They even featured Ichiro Suzuki in their introductory material, an on-the-nose overture that must have felt like a slam dunk to get the young right-hander's attention.

It didn't. Sasaki never even took a meeting with the Mariners and instead landed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, in what felt like their latest seismic move. Sasaki's MLB journey instead got complicated right away. Preceding his late-season rise as a shutdown closer was a rocky introduction to starting and a shoulder injury that sidelined him for several months.

Which brings us to a recent report from Dylan Hernandez of the New York Post on where Sasaki and the Dodgers stand entering spring training. The short version: things are still volatile.

Roki Sasaki has become a Dodgers headache since the Mariners whiffed on him

Per Hernandez, the Dodgers are going to give Sasaki, who's still just 24 years old, every opportunity to nail down a role as their No. 5 or No. 6 starter. But manager Dave Roberts doesn't think he can do so on the strength of his fastball and forkball alone.

“For me,” Roberts said, “he needs to develop a third pitch.”

Sasaki does technically have a slider, but he barely used it in 2025 and didn't have much success with it (.250 AVG) in right-on-right matchups. A curveball might suit him better, or perhaps a sweeper that would satisfy Roberts' desire to see "something that goes left."

It's a reasonable ask, but Hernandez's report further notes that some evaluators doubt whether Sasaki's delivery will even allow for another pitch. To boot, the Dodgers have "encountered trouble reaching" the individualistic Sasaki, with Roberts indicating that he wants to see more humility and openness to new ideas from the youngster.

After posting a 4.72 ERA and a 1.485 WHIP as a starter in the majors last year, you'd think Sasaki would see the writing on the wall that he does need to adjust. But if he remains unwilling to work with the Dodgers on that, he's putting himself at a major disadvantage. They're two-time defending World Series champions for a reason.

As for what any of this has do to with the Mariners, the honest answer is nothing. Sasaki is not on their roster, and he's not exactly needed in a starting rotation that is already five deep.

Even so, it's always interesting to get "what could have been" perspective that doesn't elicit a sense of FOMO. Sasaki entering into the Mariners' own well-regarded pitching development machine was an exciting possibility last winter. But now, you have to wonder if they would have been doomed to run into the same problems the Dodgers are now dealing with.

Sucks to be them, as the saying goes. That is. at least until the Dodgers unlock Sasaki and the Mariners' failed pursuit goes back to looking like a bummer.