A former two-time MLB All-Star believes highly touted Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki is showing clear signs of a “soft” mindset.
There were many talented players up for grabs this past offseason in the free agent and trade market. Signing or acquiring proven big league stars like Juan Soto, Blake Snell, Max Fried, Alex Bregman, and Garrett Crochet were the focus of many clubs’ offseason plans. However, one specific player had interest from the entire league.
Roki Sasaki was one of the most sought-after players this offseason since his age and short career in Japan’s top baseball league meant he could only sign an international rookie-level contract. However, despite a huge amount of interest, the draw of playing with countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto was too much. And he signed with the Dodgers.
Many believe the 23-year-old completes one of the greatest rotations in baseball history. However, the rookie has gotten off to a rough start in MLB. In his big league debut, he only lasted three innings as he gave up a run on one hit and five walks while striking out three. Fortunately, he did not get a loss — or a win for that matter.
Then, in his next start ten days later, he lasted just 1.2 innings against the Detroit Tigers. Giving up three runs on two hits and four more walks and struck out two. He has a 5.79 ERA and 2.79 WHIP after two starts. Furthermore, in his game last week, he showed clear signs of frustration after being removed from that game.
Jonathan Lucroy calls Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki ‘soft’
Those obvious shows of emotion are why former two-time All-Star Jonathan Lucroy called Sasaki a soft player over the weekend.
“He’s soft. I’ve seen it before,” he began by saying in a post on X. “Only thing that will help him is to fail. Massively. He will either peter out or transform into a hardened warrior. That will be his choice. Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time situations.”
When a fan questioned coming hard after a rookie following just two games, the former Milwaukee Brewers star doubled down on his hot take.
“Showing negative emotion on the field is showing a lack of emotional control,” he wrote. “No matter what emotion it is. (Anger, etc). Having a lack of emotional control makes you unpredictable and easily controlled by adversarial situations. Baseball games and seasons are full of failure and adversarial situations. Not good!”
Lucroy may be jumping the gun big-time with such a strong opinion early in Roki Sasaki’s career. However, as a former catcher at the highest level, his opinion does hold some weight.
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