Shohei Ohtani spoke with reporters (including ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) at the Dodgers FanFest event today, and provided something of an update on when he might make his return to a big league mound. Ohtani had a UCL-related surgery in September 2023 that kept him from pitching in 2024, and his recovery hit another snag when he had arthroscopic surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder following the World Series. Through he described the latter procedure as “complicated,” Ohtani said his rehab has been “pretty smooth,” with everything proceeding “on schedule.”
A clearer timeline will emerge once Ohtani starts throwing bullpen sessions during Spring Training. When asked if Ohtani could return to pitching in May, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that fluid projection “sounds about right.” A May return would mark roughly 21 months in between Major League pitches for Ohtani, whose last game as a pitcher came on August 23, 2023 when he was still a member of the Angels.
There hasn’t been any suggestion that Ohtani’s pitching rehab will interfere with his prep work as a hitter, so Ohtani is expected to take his usual place as the Dodgers’ designated hitter while he completes the final ramp-up to his debut in the L.A. rotation. Trying to manage both at the same time will naturally present a challenge for Ohtani, yet it is nothing he hasn’t already faced in his unique career as a two-way star. Ohtani didn’t pitch in 2019 due to Tommy John surgery and he pitched only 1 2/3 innings in 2020 due to a flexor strain in his right elbow.
Needless to say, the Dodgers will be as careful as possible in managing Ohtani’s rehab, as the worst-case scenario would be a setback on the pitching side that also requires Ohtani to miss time in the lineup. While more will be known once Ohtani actually begins his bullpen workouts, holding him back until May seems like a fair hedge for now, as it will give both the pitcher and the team plenty of time to evaluate the final stages of his UCL and shoulder procedures.
It is already expected that Los Angeles will deploy a six-man rotation in 2025, to accommodate not just Ohtani but several other pitchers returning from significant injuries. A six-man rotation also comes closer to the once-weekly pitching schedule observed by NPB teams, so this could help Yoshinobu Yamamoto and now Roki Sasaki better adjust to pitching in the majors. The Dodgers have been loading up on both starting and relief pitching to have as much depth as possible, giving the team an embarrassment of riches if everyone is healthy.
The full complement of rotation candidates includes Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin, plus Clayton Kershaw is expected to re-sign with L.A. at some point. Bobby Miller, Justin Wrobleski, Landon Knack and Ben Casparius are also on hand as further depth options in the minors. If this wasn’t enough, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates were both signed to bolster the already-strong bullpen.
If it didn’t seem like Ohtani could do any more following his 50-50 season (or officially, a 54-59 season) and a World Series championship in 2024, returning to his old form as a pitcher would be a suitably amazing encore. Ohtani has a 3.01 ERA over 481 2/3 career innings as a starter in the big leagues, as well as a 31.2% strikeout rate and an 8.9% walk rate.
How many seasons before he drops pitching? And if you don’t think he will, state your case…
I think they’ll use him as a multi inning reliever in 4 years or he’ll just be the closer
I couldn’t imagine him as a reliever or a closer, for one Dodgers don’t use an actual closer and their relievers are all deployed based on upcoming hitter matchups, rather than a specific inning.
Therefore Ohtani warming up to pitch would be an issue. What if he leads off an inning and is on base the entire inning before he is supposed to come in and relieve.
What if he is due up 2nd do you rush him to go warmup before he hits? And if he makes an out then send him back to the bullpen mid inning.
The only way I could see a TWP like Ohtani pitching out of the bullpen is if the rules are changed and they allow TWP to have more than 8 warmup pitches between innings. This is something I’m sure MLB would want to avoid as it would slow down the game.
They would just get Ohtani out to the bullpen an inning earlier. That way, he can complete all of his pre-game stretching and warm ups without his at bat interfering with his pitching readiness. He’ll only need a few warmup tosses to get loose for the following inning as he’d already be stretched out.
Again I don’t think you can do this because the Dodgers don’t have pitchers pitch specific innings, they have them pitch to specific hitters. You wouldn’t specifically know what hitters he would face an inning before.
I don’t think the Dodgers would monkey around with Ohtani. He has a very regimented routine. I don’t see him pitching out of the bullpen.
He won’t because he’s a competitor.
This year. Two major elbow surgeries. I don’t think anyone has had three.
Is it Grimace or Mr. Met who is the Mutts’ 4th starter?
Wow that was creative. Do you need constant praise of the Dodgers to get through in life? Hate to break it you but David Peterson had a better year then any Dodgers pitcher and is projected to have a better year then the Dodgers fourth starter.
The Dodgers don’t need any more praise sonny. Worry about the Mutts rotation, not theirs.
You’re the one that brought the Mets up Einstein. We were talking about Ohtani. Sorry you don’t have a sounding board about the Dodgers.
I love it when you’re angry. So sexy.
Who won the world series last year
I don’t think anyone has had three elbows either. Good call.
I don’t think anyone can bring in fan base revenue like Ohtani so who cares what he does lol he’ll still sell seats and merchandise more than anyone else in MLB
Never been to a circus?
Sure. Seen the bearded lady but never saw the three elbowed gambler there.
@metsin4 —
How about 3.5 Tommy John surgeries: Jonny Venters
espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23462326/inside-jonny-vent…
He missed 6 years of baseball. Don’t think the Dodgers want that.
His career will probably last longer if he drops the pitching. I know he gets a lot of publicity off it, but I’m not sure it’s worth the extra wear and tear.
I don’t think the Dodgers or Ohtani really care. I have no inside knowledge, but the Dodgers clearly expect lots of injuries and construct their roster accordingly. If Ohtani falls apart in 5 years, it may not matter because, by then, the Dodgers may be the official team of Japan. At that point, they will be able to replace Ohtani using the piles of money they made off of him.
The Dodgers seem poised to acquire the best Japanese players each offseason for the next decade. That’s all thanks to Ohtani. So, who cares about tomorrow when they can have fun today?
That shoulder separation last year was no joke, either. Once you pop the shoulder it tends to be recurring (see many NHL players) even with surgical intervention.
The handling of Mookie Betts and Ohtani is headscratching at times. With Ohtani might be hubris but either way like…how long do you want the best players on the planet for? A week? A month? Two years?
Yes I get it makes a great headline for Ohtani to win a Cy and Sliver Slugger of even MVP in the same season but…is it better for the team?
Idk,but I’m betting if he ends up needing another surgery, he’ll be done.
I’m betting since the projection is May, we’re looking ing at June/July.
@HiredGun, Sho says there isn’t a bet he doesn’t like. Over or under at 4 years, Sho will ask Ippei to take the over.
I hope he returns to fine form.
I’m sure we all hope that entire staff stays completely healthy.
I love baseball. Seeing someone do what he does is a delight, even if I find the Dodgers insufferable.
Wait for it… where is the Dodger hatred?
Where does the name dodger come from for say ? Could it be described as someone who manipulates the rules to generate a different outcome than the set of rules laid out for everyone else ? Hmmmm…..fitting perhaps.
Trolley cars
Trolley dodgers, from back when cities invested in public transportation
I don’t know how the Dodgers will handle this level of adversity. But I know with enough perseverance and strength they will soldier on.
Headline 20 minutes from now
Dodgers sign Jack Flaherty
I can see them packaging May, Gonsolin and Muncy to someone and signing Bregman and Flaherty, lol. It literally wouldn’t surprise me even though unlikely.
So not til July for Ohtani to return to full form . Hope he doesn’t wind up like Griffey jr and over due it. What about the dodgers long list of other injured starters?
Oh we all know he’ll end up winning MVP and Cy Young in the same season because he’s Ohtani.
He won’t win cy young, there’s many better starters than him.
Cool reply. I’m sure you saw Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale winning last year a mile away.
Absolutely he can do it…but…should he do it?
He isn’t remotely close to being Skenes.
Won’t get enough innings in to qualify
When you have the pitching depth the Dodgers have, why would you risk rushing Ohtani back from an arm injury? Let him sit out this year and then come back fully healthy the next year.
Which means TJ by June. Not worried about Dodger$ this year. I’m guessing just about all their hurlers will be down for the count by summer.
And if that happens they will still finish ahead of the Giants
Anyone got the over/under on this?
@Dub, Ippei is waiting for it.
He’s incredible when he pitches. Like the kid in little league who was just far and away the best kid on the field.
The fact he does it at the MLB level in this era is unreal.
Dave Roberts Suggests Shohei Ohtani Will Return To Pitching In May
Wanna Bet?
ain’t no rush. It’s October that matters.
I’m sure he want to, but I’m guessing he still needs to find another patsy to make his bets for him.
Ohtani does
He’ll be the first pitcher to win the NL and AL Cy Young in the same season.
Hate the Dodgers, but can’t wait to see him pitch again
Remember, Ohtani injured his left shoulder in the postseason, so I hope it healed properly to have no after effects to his hitting. He wasn’t up to his own standards in the WS after that.
Why would he go back to pitching? We know he’s excellent, but we also know he is incredibly prone and his arm already has a ton of mileage on it. Why not just stick to hitting, it’s not like he needs to be any better, minimize the chances of a major injury that could sideline him.
Because ohtani is being paid as a 6 tool player. Pitching and hitting. If he doesn’t do both contract value will go down for other starters.
Maybe he will both pitch and hit because he is getting paid to do both.
As a fan of MLB, I sure hope he returns to pitching. He’s one of the GREATS…
So the Dodgers are deferring him pitching? Huehuehuehuehuehuehue
oh perfect, he can alter his pitching to help him hit his bet!
He’s never pitching again. With their depth, it’s Not worth losing him for months for a TJ which BTW if he needs, you can assure his pitching days are over for good after that
Oh boy I’d love to see the over/under on this prediction!
Think about it. It makes no sense to risk him being out and not having his production for such a long period of
Plus he hasn’t pitched since 2023 so what would your expectations be? The longer he stays away from the mound, the less likely I see him throwing from it ever again (which, I think is the realistic, smart move)
I’ve already thought about it and so have the Dodgers. He’s going to pitch.
It says “May return to the mound”…that sounds like they’re still thinking brother…
With the dodgers track record of blowing guys arms out, probably not a smart move but good luck with that…and also good luck replacing 50 HR in his absence when (not if) he needs an arm surgery.
You realize the reason we’ve never seen any player pitch and DH everyday before is because it’s extremely demanding and not sustainable right? This ain’t a video game
You are confusing the words “May” and “may,” brother. The former is a noun, and the latter is a verb. One refers to a month and other does not. The entire conversation from the team and the player isn’t whether he will pitch, but when. Roberts said it could even be sooner than May if they like what they see in his workouts. So this is what I realize.
I also realize that practically everything Ohtani does is without precedent. Since the shoulder surgery he’s been hitting 100MPH off a tee. The man is a living video game.
@BlueSkies, so would Ippei.
Ball throw
He probably pitches for at most 4 innings every Sunday and then Sasaki can come in and pitch once through the lineup, maybe twice if they are up by 4+ runs. With the rule change that a starting pitcher can still DH when no longer pitching, there’s no need for Ohtani to throw more than 100 innings per season going forward as their 6th starter.
Good. He’s a better pitcher than batter. Batters can’t hit any of his pitches.
Miller as a closer is a great idea. Call Stearns.
Ohtani would make a great closer. I don’t see any reason to ever deploy him as a starter again.
You have no clue about the logistics of coming out of the pen every other day or three while also DHing. It’s hard enough for him to manage the routine of pitching once a week. No way can he sit in the bullpen and warm up 4 times a week or more.
If I interpret this correctly the Dodgers are rolling the dice and gambling that Ohtani can stay healthy. Who knows what the odds on that are but they are all in and it’s a wager that they’re willing to take.
Its a little late for the Dodgers to change their mind now. They signed the contract. Its a done deal. They no longer have the choice to walk away.
Sadly, in my 40 years following major league baseball, no player has ever returned when their injury comeback due date is scheduled. It’s always weeks to months later.