Dodgers Injury Updates: Sasaki Improves, Kiké Returns, Scott & Yates to Rejoin ‘Pen this Weekend

TACOMA, WA—While the Los Angeles Dodgers were embarrassed last night by their National League West rival, the Colorado Rockies, holders of the worst record in Major League Baseball this season, the team had some positives down in the minor leagues. 

As is the recurring theme this season, the Oklahoma City Comets, the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, has been the hub for multiple players during their minor league rehab assignments.

This week, the team welcomed numerous players, including pitchers Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, and Roki Sasaki; now, they’re joined by fan-favorite utilityman Kiké Hernández.

Kiké Solid in Rehab Debut

It’s been a while since the Dodgers last saw fan-favorite Kiké Hernández in the starting lineup, as the veteran right-handed utilityman has been on the 15-day injured list since July 7th with left elbow inflammation.

In what was initially supposed to be a short IL stint, per Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, ended up being a far longer stay, with even some doubt if he’d even return at all this season.

Hernández, since then, has undergone nonsurgical procedures, which have since accelerated his progress, allowing him to ramp up baseball activities such as running, fielding, throwing, and most recently, swinging a bat —a task that had caused him the most discomfort.

With Hernández cleared and ready to return to the Dodgers, the next step was a minor league rehab assignment, which he began last night with the OKC Comets batting second as the designated hitter.

Overall, it was an excellent day for Hernández, who proceeded to go 2-for-3 with a single, double, and one RBI before being pinch-hit for later in the game, ending his night.

Hernández is on track to play a few more minor league games before rejoining the Dodgers on their next homestand, a massive boost to the position player pool, which has been roiled with injuries as of late.

Also set to join the OKC Comets this week is Hernández, a rookie who has been sidelined for the last several weeks due to a shoulder injury. Both players are expected to be activated simultaneously.

Sasaki Shows Improvement in Second Rehab Outing

Yesterday also marked the second rehab start for Dodgers 23-year-old rookie Roki Sasaki, who was looking to show improvements after a subpar performance last week.

Overall, it was an improvement from Sasaki’s first start, but still showcased more of the same from what the Dodgers had seen this season: A struggling fastball and shaky command.

Sasaki surrendered two runs (one earned), on three hits and three walks in 3.1 innings pitched. The outing took a combined sixty pitches, thirty-nine of which were strikes and totaled just five swing and misses on the day.

Still, Sasaki’s velocity was encouraging as the Japanese right-hander averaged 95-97mph on the night, a far cry from what the team saw in the first game of the regular season when he hit 100-plus mph with the radar gun.

While the fastball has remained an issue, Sasaki turned to his trademark splitter, which sat around 83-86 mph during the outing, a decent drop that could be a significant weapon for him if he can hone in on his fastball.

Sasaki’s role moving forward is cloudy, especially with the Dodgers’ starting rotation at full health for the first time this season.

A bullpen role could be an option for him if all goes well in Triple-A leading into September roster expansion, per Dave Roberts.

“Anything is possible, but right now with Roki, it’s build him up as a starter,” Roberts said. “You look at the rotation right now, we don’t have much more depth. So if something does happen, you’ve got to be able to backfill.”

However, Roberts continued to say that the Dodgers need to see improvements from Sasaki before anything is finalized, reiterating that Los Angeles will take the thirteen best pitchers for the postseason.

Scott & Yates to Rejoin Dodgers ‘Pen in San Diego

Perhaps the most encouraging news from yesterday is that Dave Roberts stated he expects both Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott to be activated from the 15-day injured list this weekend in San Diego.

“Kirby and Tanner were both good,” Roberts said. “Not sure if they’re going to do another one. Probably not. So then it’s kind of trying to figure out when they would join us.”

Both arms appeared in their first game action since being placed on the injured list with the Triple-A OKC Comets to begin their rehab assignment on Tuesday.

Kirby Yates, who came into the game in the sixth inning, pitched a scoreless inning. He threw a total of twenty-one pitches, with thirteen strikes, walking one batter and recording a lineout for the second out of the inning.

Scott, 31, would enter the game the next inning, throwing a scoreless frame of his own on sixteen pitches (ten for strikes) while recording two strikeouts. However, perhaps the most encouraging part of the night for Scott was the velocity of the southpaw’s fastball, averaging at 98mph.

Scott has not pitched for the Dodgers since July 21st, while Yates last appeared on July 26th.

Neither Scott nor Yates has been nearly as productive as they were last season, but they are still valuable veteran relievers that the Dodgers are eager to get back on their roster, especially after how the back-end of the bullpen has performed in August.

Following closely behind both Kopech and Scott is right-handed flamethrower Michael Kopech, who has looked much better since his first rehab outing on August 14th.

Since then, Kopech has tossed two scoreless innings, and while he issued three walks over those appearances, his velocity touched 98mph, an encouraging sign.

Kopech was transferred to the 60-day injured list and is ineligible for activation until August 27th, so he’ll get a handful of more rehab games before then.

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