Dodgers option Emmet Sheehan back to Triple-A

Sasaki is expected to operate as a one-inning reliever during Tuesday’s series opener against the Padres. The 24-year-old former starter is ostensibly auditioning for a spot in the Dodgers’ bullpen for their upcoming playoff run during the final week of the season after missing a couple weeks with a blister issue. He can be safely dropped in nearly all redraft fantasy leagues.

Technically, Sheehan could be brought back later this week to take the ball against the Giants in place of an injured Blake Snell (groin), but that would require another player, not necessarily Snell himself, to go on the injured list. The 26-year-old righty struck out nine over 5 1/3 shutout frames against San Francisco on Sunday. He’s been temporarily demoted to get Roki Sasaki back on Los Angeles’ active roster.,

Sheehan didn’t get the win; he would have needed to record two more outs, since the Dodgers didn’t take the lead until the bottom of the seventh. Fantasy owners have to be disappointed to have missed out on Sheehan’s performance after the Dodgers’ surprising decision to demote him earlier this week, but it looks like the team had this plotted out. It’s unclear if Sheehan will get another start. The Dodgers are probably going to want him in the pen during the postseason, though he would be the top rotation alternative in the event of a Blake Snell setback.

The original plan was for Sasaki to go long as either a starter or a bulk guy, but now it looks like this might be more of a traditional relief outing to get him ready for coming out of the pen in October. It’ll be Sasaki’s first appearance since he went on the IL with a finger blister at the end of August.

With Tarik Skubal landing on the bereavement list on Sunday, Sheehan will return to add a fresh arm to the Dodgers’ bullpen. Expect him to get some usage during Sunday’s bullpen game against the Giants. Sheehan fired six scoreless innings against the Giants last Sunday in his last start with the Dodgers.

It’s not yet decided whether Sasaki will start or be used as a bulk guy. Sasaki has been on the IL since Aug. 27 with a finger blister.

It remains a mystery shrouded in an enigma in terms of what type of role the Dodgers have planned for Bubic as he returns to the big leagues for the first time since mid-May. The 29-year-old impending free agent came over from the Royals at the trade deadline and figures to operate out of the Dodgers’ bullpen in the postseason. He can be safely ignored for fantasy purposes.

The team is “hoping this will be the last check mark in his recovery from a blister,” which means he could be activated as soon as this weekend. As of now, it remains unclear if the Dodgers will put him back in rotation or shift him to the bullpen once he’s activated

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sasaki will not be activated from the injured list this week. The widely-held expectation was that Sasaki would return to Los Angeles’ rotation later this week, especially after they sent down Emmet Sheehan following a pair of strong outings. Clearly, the Dodgers don’t want to take any chances that he suffers any sort of physical setback as he returns from a blister issue. It sounds like he’ll be ready to pitch in the postseason, possibly as a reliever like he did last postseason, but his odds of making it back before the regular season concludes appear very slim.

After striking out 10 batters in his return to the majors on Monday, Sheehan feasted in a favorable matchup. He gave up just two hits — both of them singles — while walking one and striking out five. He induced 14 swinging strikes in his 81 pitches while getting multiple whiffs on all four of his pitches. Unfortunately, the Dodgers’ bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Nevertheless, it was another impressive outing for someone who was regarded as a breakout candidate in fantasy leagues coming into the year. This doesn’t make up for the disappointment earlier in the year, but Sheehan is back on the radar. If the Dodgers decide to keep him in the rotation, it would likely be against the Giants next weekend.