Hard-throwing Lotte Marines pitcher Roki Sasaki will not be immediately reactivated as he continues to recover from a right-arm issue, the Pacific League club's manager Masato Yoshii revealed Wednesday.
The 22-year-old right-hander, who in 2022 became Japanese pro baseball's youngest perfect-game pitcher and pitched for Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, was dropped from the active roster last Thursday due to the "poor condition of his right arm."
The Marines have decided not to recall Sasaki to the active roster ahead of Sunday's game against the first-place SoftBank Hawks, the first day he will be eligible for reactivation.
Sasaki was also deactivated after his May 24 start, pitched on June 8, before being deactivated the second time this season.
"I think he will be able to pitch with two weeks between starts," Yoshii said. "But if he does that (every time) it won't make him any better."
Sasaki is 5-2 in nine starts this year with 70 strikeouts in 59-2/3 innings and a 1.96 ERA.
