Two Japanese pitchers slated for LA in Japan in March, Roberts said on MLB Network on Wednesday.
With the Dodgers opening the 2024 regular season in Tokyo with two games against the Cubs, it is likely that Japanese pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the opener. Roki Sasaki might start as well, or at least pitch in one of the exhibition games on the trip to Japan.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said as much on Wednesday morning as a guest on ‘Hot Stove’ on MLB Network. He was asked directly whether Yamamoto and Sasaki would pitch in the two games against the Cubs.
“The expectation for both those guys to pitch is real. But you never know,” Roberts said. “Things can certainly change. But at the outset, that’s our anticipation, yeah.”
“The expectation is for both those guys to pitch…”@Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says the plan is to have Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki take the mound in Japan #MLBNHotStove | @SageUSAmerica pic.twitter.com/suqFquqCHx
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 12, 2025
Later Wednesday morning at Camelback Ranch, Roberts clarified his earlier comments to reporters.
Per Dave Roberts, it’s “fair to say” Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 1 of the Tokyo Series. He also said “the plan is for [Roki Sasaki] to pitch there,” depending on how he builds up during spring. If Sasaki does pitch in Tokyo, it will be as s starter.
— Sonja Chen (@SonjaMChen) February 12, 2025
Dave Roberts said “it’s fair to say” Yoshinobu Yamamoto will pitch the season opener in Tokyo against the Cubs. Stopped short of saying for certain that Roki Sasaki would line up for the second game (rather than one of the exhibitions).
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) February 12, 2025
Yamamoto is in the second season of his 12-year contract with the Dodgers. Sasaki signed with the Dodgers on January 22, and that it was technically only a minor league deal is a formality. The team expects him to be in the starting rotation at the outset of the regular season, which could happen as early as March 18-19 in Japan.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Monday that Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga will start one of the two games against the Dodgers in Tokyo.
This is the second year in a row the Dodgers begin the season a week early with two games in Asia. In their two games in South Korea last year, the Dodgers had only two starting pitchers active to go with 11 relievers. Ten of the relief pitchers saw game action in Seoul.
“Being resolved to the fact that you don’t have to build pitchers up to six [innings] and 90 [pitches] for the games in Tokyo, I think that we feel really good about that,” Roberts said Wednesday on MLB Network. “It’s going to be sort of, use a lot of different arms.”