Blake Treinen: Roki Sasaki Remarks Expose Dodgers Bullpen Crisis

The Los Angeles Dodgers kicked off the 2025 season with sky-high hopes for their bullpen. They counted on a mix of veteran arms and new faces to lock down those tense late innings.

Instead, things unraveled. Setbacks piled up, underperformance crept in, and injuries hit hard—Blake Treinen’s rough year ended up at the center of it all.

There was, at least, one bright spot. Roki Sasaki’s postseason turnaround gave fans something to cheer about, but zooming out, it’s clear the Dodgers’ bullpen just didn’t live up to its billing.

Treinen’s Decline Symbolizes a Bullpen in Crisis

Blake Treinen’s season turned sour fast. After signing a big contract, everyone figured he’d lock down the late innings with ease.

An arm injury sidelined him for a huge chunk of the year. When he finally got back on the mound, he just couldn’t find his groove, wrapping up the regular season with a brutal 11.74 ERA and a 6.40 FIP in his last 10 outings.

Fans and coaches waited for Treinen to bounce back in October. But the postseason only brought more inconsistency.

The Dodgers had to scramble, shuffling their bullpen plan and leaning on other arms to survive the pressure-cooker moments.

Playoff Hopes Dashed by Continued Struggles

Los Angeles wanted Treinen’s veteran steadiness in October. Instead, his struggles just highlighted how shaky the bullpen had become.

In those do-or-die playoff games, the Dodgers patched together innings with whoever was available, even as those pitchers battled their own issues.

Roki Sasaki: The Rare Bright Spot

Amid all the chaos, Roki Sasaki stepped up. He’d had his own rough patches—command problems, a nagging shoulder injury—but when it mattered, he delivered.

In limited postseason chances, Sasaki looked sharp and steady. For a bullpen desperate for answers, that was huge.

“A Godsend” in the Bullpen

Treinen even called Sasaki “a godsend.” That says a lot about how rough things got—and how much the Dodgers leaned on Sasaki’s late surge.

Honestly, for a team starved for reliable late-inning pitching, his emergence couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Bigger Picture: A Bullpen Built for Greatness That Fell Short

When the Dodgers kept Treinen around and brought in Tanner Scott, the plan was obvious: build a shutdown bullpen. But reality had other ideas:

• Tanner Scott never found his footing in the big moments.
• Injuries to Brusdar Graterol and Michael Kopech took away key pieces for long stretches.
• Treinen’s absence and struggles just threw the whole bullpen out of sync.

Manager Dave Roberts often found himself mixing and matching, just hoping someone would get hot at the right time.

Looking Ahead: Can the Dodgers Rebuild Their Relief Strength?

This offseason feels absolutely pivotal for the bullpen. The Dodgers need to figure out what to do with Treinen, decide if Scott fits anywhere, and pray for healthy returns from Graterol and Kopech.

Sasaki’s strong finish gives a little hope, but let’s be real—they’ll need more than one steady arm if they want to survive the grind of a full season and make another deep playoff push.

Lessons Learned from 2025

The Dodgers’ struggles show just how unpredictable relief pitching can get, even for teams with deep pockets. Talent’s great, but it doesn’t always guarantee results.

Durability, adaptability, and having guts in high-pressure moments matter just as much. Sometimes, even the biggest contracts and flashiest names fall short.

And every now and then, someone completely unexpected steps up—like a young pitcher bouncing back from injury to become the “godsend” his team didn’t even know it needed.

 
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