Sasaki entered MLB as one of the most-hyped prospects in living memory, in the zip code of Paul Skenes and Stephen Strasburg. However, it's becoming increasingly clear he did not enter the league as a finished product like his teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who accomplished much more in NPB before coming over.

He told the team his arm was sore after his last start in which he pitched on five days rest for the first time in the majors. Sasaki threw four innings and gave up five runs on 61 pitches Friday at Arizona.