The Los Angeles Dodgers are preparing for October once again, and despite the team finally performing like the defending champions as of late, there are still key members of the squad waiting in the wings.

One of those injured Dodgers is right-hander Roki Sasaki. The 23-year-old phenom has been sidelined since May with a shoulder impingement, but is nearing the end of his rehab assignment. Although the first few starts of his time in Triple-A have been less than ideal, he has flashed an increased velocity and improved command since his time in MLB.

The rotation looks a little different since the last time Sasaki was pitching for LA, and with their recent success on the mound, there is no guaranteed spot for the young pitcher. Manager Dave Roberts spoke on a potential Sasaki return before season’s end, but didn’t mention where exactly he would play.

“I don’t know when. I don’t know what capacity,” he said. “But I’m hopeful that we’ll see Roki here before season’s end.”

There is the notion of Sasaki returning in a bullpen role, but with consistency being something the right-hander needs more of on the bump, Roberts also touched on how there may need to be an element of trust from both sides for that to happen.

“I think that Roki is … in a good place to do whatever it is to help the team,” Roberts said. “[Pitching out of the bullpen] would be something that would be completely odd to him so it would have to be a little bit of a leap of faith on his part as well.

“But I think that he understands how good the starting pitchers are pitching. He just wants to be a part of it. He’s worked really hard to get himself into a position to contribute.”

In Sasaki’s last rehab start, he struck out eight over 4.2 innings, walking four and allowing three runs in the process. He was throwing an average fastball of 98.6 mph (up 4.2 mph from his last start), and hit 100 mph or more six times.