Dodgers manager expects Sasaki, Yamamoto to pitch in Tokyo

Roberts, preparing for his 10th Major League Baseball season guiding the Dodgers, said the reigning World Series champions plan to have the Asian aces on the mound against the Chicago Cubs on March 18-19.

“The expectation for both those guys to pitch is real,” Roberts said on MLB Network. “That’s our expectation.

“You never know. Things can certainly change but I think at the outset that’s our anticipation.”

Roberts said it’s “fair to say” Yamamoto will have the ball for the opening day but Sasaki’s spot for game two in Japan is less certain, though hoped for by the Dodgers.

“With Roki… the plan is for him to pitch (in Japan),” Roberts said. “We will kind of figure out when, and a lot of it is more contingent on the unknown, how he responds to spring training and his buildup.

“We just want to make sure he’s in a good position and feels good about when he pitches, so I don’t want to put him in a box right now.

“Everything is on the table. I think it’s pretty fair to say it would be to pitch in the second game of the season. If it doesn’t line up, then it doesn’t line up.”

The Dodgers want Shohei Ohtani, last year’s National League Most Valuable Player, to return to pitching as well as batting after spending last year as only a designated hitter after recovering from right elbow surgery.

Ohtani is expected to return to the mound in May, Roberts said.

Yamamoto, a 26-year-old right-hander, went 7-2 over 18 starts in his first MLB season with 105 strikeouts and a 3.00 earned-run average (ERA) in 2024 for the Dodgers.

Sasaki, a 23-year-old MLB rookie right-hander who signed with the Dodgers last month, helped Japan win the 2023 World Baseball Classic and spent the past four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan.

Shota Imanaga, a 31-year-old left-handed pitcher for the Cubs, is expected to start for Chicago against the Dodgers in Tokyo.

“Shota’s going to pitch in Japan,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said earlier this week.

Imanaga made his MLB debut in 2024, going 15-3 over 29 starts with a 2.91 ERA and 174 strikeouts.