Shohei Ohtani hasn’t thrown a big league pitch since August 23, 2023, as the superstar underwent a UCL surgery that kept him off the mound for the entirety of the 2024 season. Ohtani is expected to return to pitching during the 2025 campaign, though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts it is “very unlikely” Ohtani pitches during the team’s season-opening series in Tokyo against the Cubs on March 18-19.
“I just don’t see us starting the clock in March to then think that we would keep that continuously going through October. Then, that would call for a break or reprieve in the middle of the season, so I don’t know,” Roberts told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and other reporters.
Ohtani’s recovery process hit a minor speed bump when he suffered a labrum tear in his left (non-throwing) shoulder while attempting to steal second base in Game 2 of the World Series. He underwent arthroscopic surgery to address the problem shortly after the Fall Classic was over, and he is expected to be ready for the start of Spring Training, at least as a hitter.
“I don’t think the left shoulder is going to have much of an impact on Shohei’s pitching,” Roberts said, noting that Ohtani’s elbow is naturally “the biggest factor.” The manager didn’t have a set idea yet about “when he starts pitching in Major League games,” other than to say that the Dodgers wouldn’t be pushing the two-way star back to the mound until he is ready.
For the second straight year, Los Angeles is opening the season a little earlier than the rest of the league by playing in an international series. The Dodgers faced the Padres in a two-game series in Seoul last March, and now they’ll head to Tokyo for what is expected to be an even bigger event, given Ohtani’s return to his home country. This bit of schedule irregularity adds another wrinkle to the Dodgers’ plans, both for Ohtani specifically and for the roster in general, given how the team has to ramp up for regular-season games in between two long international flights and then return to Cactus League play before the full season slate begins on March 27.
It should be noted that Roberts downplayed the idea of Ohtani pitching in those two games in Japan, but not the possibility of pitching during that March 27-29 series against the Tigers. The Dodgers’ plan of using a six-man rotation adds more flexibility, since the team is trying to create extra rest for not just Ohtani, but several pitchers with a checkered health history. While L.A. was able to overcome a mountain of pitching injuries to win the World Series, obviously the team would like to avoid walking that same tightrope in 2025, and would prefer to have a proper rotation healthy and ready for another deep postseason run.
Like always, Ohtani will be a fascinating figure to watch, as his Dodgers debut as a pitcher is now the follow-up to his magical first season with the organization. Ohtani’s time with the Angels is clear evidence that he can produce at a high level as both a pitcher and hitter simultaneously, but doing so after a major UCL-related injury does add another degree of difficulty to Ohtani’s already-unique skillset.
Well…I am glad that this is cleared up ….I mean Spring Training isn’t for 2 months and the fact that it is freezing outside….
If the Dodgers were smart, they wouldn’t pitch him at all. That’s the fastest way to burn this guy up halfway through his contract.
Great idea, stop the games greatest talent from using half of his repertoire
Then use his whole repertoire and have him burnt to a crisp in five more years. Whatever.
When you have the first 50-50 season and win a world series. There really is no reason to have him pitch. Especially when he’s already had two tommy john surgeries.
Well, “burning the guy up” might have a direct correlation to the injuries he has suffered during his brief ML career…..maybe that’s a consideration….think so?
So is he a pitcher than hits, or a hitter that can pitch……maybe both….59 steals, 54 HR’s 130 RBI’s and nearly won the batting title…..and you’re complaining that he isn’t picthing too?
He’s too valuable as a hitter in that lineup to worry about him starting 30+ games a year too as a pitcher……his essential value is as a hitter first….whatever he might contribute on the mound is gravy…
He got that contract on being proficient at both. He chose to be a two way talent and wants to continue as such. I say more power to him.
I agree that would probably be the best idea for the Dodgers. As a Padre fan I say pitch him, pitch him lots.
As a Padres fan I think they should pitch him in the Tokyo Series and every 5th game all season.
@rocky – 30+ starts? You either haven’t been paying attention or you don’t understand the math of a six man rotation. Ohtani has never started more than 28 games and in a six man rotation he will be expected to start about 25 games for LA.
Ohtani
Yamamoto
Glasnow
Snell
Kershaw (inevitably)
Gonsolin
May
Knack
Wroblewski
Miller
(Sasaki can’t ruled out)
No, they’re not all going to remain healthy, but that is one deep, quality staff of starting pitchers.
The Dodgers may think otherwise. They didn’t pay 700 million for a DH.
@Edcheffsfungo
No, the Mets paid $700 million for a DH. Ohtani will pitch for as long as his arms allows, 20 plus starts a year…
Soto just smoked that contract and all he can do is hit.
The fastest way to burn this guy up? How do you know when he’s the first player of his kind?
Oh how we forget about babe Ruth. No I’m not comparing them talent wise either so don’t come at me.
I didn’t forget about Babe. Just don’t consider them equal. Babe essentially stopped pitching in 1919 and went to position full time.
I wouldn’t compare them talent-wise either. Ohtani is well above Ruth, and plays during a vastly superior time against opponents that all would be baseball gods in the early 20th century.
I literally said I’m not comparing them talent wise don’t come at me, and you do just that. And while I understand babe moved permanently to hitting, in 1919 he both pitched and hit at a very very high level, it doesn’t matter what happened after that. You said ohtani was the first of his kind, which he just simply was not.
I agreed that you can’t compare them. Doc white and Joe wood were before Ruth. Different levels of players. He’s the first of his kind. Talent wise on both sides.
Lucky for the Cubs. They’ll face Yamamoto and Roki. 😐
Dodgers should trade Miller…. to the Yankees
Trade Fraggle Rock May to the Yankees too. Yankees send LA a real New York pie. Plain cheese.
MLB games should only be played at the home stadiums of MLB teams. This playing regular season games in Asia is ridiculous.
another marketing expert has spoken
I don’t really care for it either, but the crowd there is phenomenal. It is a fun little watch.
Why?
International marketing and TV are a significant part of MLB’s future. Young Americans don’t sit around watching baseball as much as we old farts did. So, you introduce the product to other parts of the world. If you don’t move forward then you’re doomed to fall behind.
Young farts don’t sit around watching baseball on a TV as we old farts do, but they watch more baseball than we ever did. They just watch it on their phones and tablets. They also have access to more games than we ever did. When I was a teenager there were 5-6 games per week nationally and maybe 30 per year locally. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s that any team had more than half a season worth of games on TV.
My daughter who is at away in college watched all 162 Padres games, not all of them live, plus a large number of Blue Jays and Orioles games. She has been a fan of those two teams since childhood because they had birds on their uniforms.
Yeah!! They should ignore the added revenue streams and growing a fanbase internationally. They should also ban all non-US citizen players. Then another league can be started without monopoly protection and tax dollars when the MLB fails.
As someone said below, just play exhibition games there. MLB is raking in billions and can survive not starting our regular season thousands of miles away.
Who cares? Players fly ten of thousands of miles every season. Oh no! They might have jet lag and will have to take a nap. Or maybe fans might have to watch at a different time.
Plus exhibition games are lame. Unless it’s like an allstar game
But, but, but…those darn foreigners are eating the cats and dogs.
The start-stop-start nature of these international season openers really needs to be rethought by the league. Just turn them into exhibition games. The audiences in these countries aren’t really going to care whether the games count, they probably mostly just want to see the players play.
good point
It doesn’t make financial sense if it doesn’t count. You don’t invest money into that whole dog and pony show and get the buy-in from the players if it’s just an exhibition series.
How does counting make a financial difference? You’re assuming the fans in these countries follow MLB, when if they follow any of it, they mainly follow the players from their own countries. Some of these games are being played in countries no baseball at all, and those spectators surely don’t care. And the games are played when American fans can’t watch them. As for the players, I think you’d get no objection from them. They don’t seem to love having to play meaningful games with jet lag.
I mean Dodgers have enough starters, especially if they sign Kershaw and Sasaki. Yankees need SP. I like Miller and his upside.
The Dodgers won’t give Miller away. What can the Yankees offer that would improve the Dodgers?
Oswald Perraza. Ben Rice. You know you want them, Dodgers.
He’s got ability. The Dodgers would be stupid to throw him away because someone on a chat board doesn’t like him.
Maybe a 3 team trade. Dodgers need a SS. Yankees get Miller, Dodgers a SS and Team 3 some prospects.
The Dodgers have Alex Freeland waiting in the wings as their next SS. His time is soon, but they don’t have a pressing need for the position in 2025.
What I heard is that they are looking for a SS.
What is the source of what you heard? And who do you think would be a shortstop worth pursuing? As a Dodger fan, I don’t see any they can realistically pursue.
There were a lot of reports that the Dodgers are interested in Adames.
Reports, or just stuff on the Internet? Adames is now a Giant.
They’re absolutely signing Kershaw. He’s said so in as many words. He’ll play for the Dodgers until he retires, and no one else.
But he lives in Texas!
Sorry, somebody had to say it.
At this point I’d be more concerned about him being able to swing the bat over worrying if he’s going to pitch at all
They are chasing the gold. They’ll buy Mookie shirts if the see Mookie play, but if they see Outman batting cleanup they might leave w/o a souvenir
He realistically shouldn’t pitch until May or June
My personal opinion is that he shouldn’t pitch anymore and just focus on being a hitter. I know he probably wants to pitch. But he a long term investment and thrived when he just focused offensively. If he would of sign a 3 or 5 year deal. Then go for it pitch him. I’m afraid he gets hurt then there goes the offense.
That took long enough to report. It’s been 5 days since he said that originally. Anyone that looks at Baseball-Reference has been seeing that video for days now.
The Dodgers thought they got a two way player. At this rate it will only happen doubling down at the tables in Vegas.
All they ended up with is the first 50/50 season and the first full time DH to win the MVP, from a player that seems to bring with him all of Japan as a fan base. who also deferred all but two million a year so they could spend even more while he’s active.
Dodgers got hosed in that deal.
None of which addressed the point.
Ichiro brought a ton of fans from Japan with him too. Nothing new there with one of their better players.
If he never pitches he’s still a bargain.
You’ll have to ask their next owner when he is still paying the bill.
Don’t worry about the Dodgers. They’re a well-run organization and will be fine.
You don’t understand how these deferrals work. The money is being set aside now in interest-bearing accounts.
And Guggenheim isn’t selling the Dodgers.
@Reds – A bill that will be completely funded already and in no way be a burden to the franchise. Educate yourself a little on the rules concerning deferrals before spouting off inane rhetoric.
According to tourism officials in Japan, 80% of Japanese tourists who visit Southern California go to a Dodger game. As one who goes to these games, I can confirm that the stands are now loaded with Japanese tourists. He has also brought in tens of millions of dollars in added advertising revenue, far exceeding the Dodgers’ expectations.
Franchises change hands about every 20 years on average, so never say never.
Accounts can be raided just as the government did to Social Security.
Ask a gentleman named McCourt about shenigans that can occur.
Deferral accounts are audited quarterly by the commissioner’s office. They cannot be “raided.” McCourt did not defer any salaries, he simply disinvested in the franchise over a period of years and alienated Dodger fans. Before him, Fox did much the same.
Dodgers got hosed? Really?
They did not get what they expected.
If you go to a four star restaurant and get a big mac and fries, wouldn’t you be pissed?
Considering the local TV money alone pays for their massive payroll, they can afford it.
No, they didn’t get what they expected. They got a lot more. The figures I quoted above came from a recent LA Times article about this very subject. Probably this site won’t pick up on this article, but it makes for interesting reading.
latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2024-12-09/dodger…
If Ohtani had this years stats in 2024 and was a FA this year and announced he would only be a full time hitter and would not entertain an offer with deferred money, I wonder what kind of contract he would receive at age 29? Then I wonder how much of an offer Soto would receive if he had his 2024 stats in 2025 at the same age of 26 and was an FA at the end of the year? Would either come close to touching $500-$600?
Judge’s contract of 9/$360 or $40 mil works be the benchmark, right?
Boras had to know that signing Soto after Ohtani works be setting the perfect storm.
Roberts is lying if he is trying to say that Ohtani’s tearing his left shoulder will not impact the timeline for him pitching. Ohtani has to keep his left arm immobile for 3 -4 months after that surgery. There is no way to do any offseason throwing program when you can’t move the opposite shoulder.
Roberts didn’t say that.
Did you READ the article?
Yes.
Ohtani had no business batting in those World Series games after tearing his labrum. He looked horrible and you could tell by the look on his face that he knew he shouldn’t be up there. Hopefully it didn’t damage his shoulder further.
Tell by the look on his face? Really?
He looked miserable to me dude. Tell me he should have been up there to bat. He could barely swing. I don’t know if they made him do it because it was the Big Show or if it was his overweening pride needing to be the hero. Either way it was pathetic.
Bust alert
This Front Office very rarely makes a wrong move. Whatever they want to do with Ohtani, who are we to argue when the evidence shows it’s probably the correct decision.
About the only thing that has sucked is Chris Taylor’s contract. That, and the loyalty to Austin Barnes but even that is debatable.