Since his debut in 2018, Shohei Ohtani has gone 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts. In that time, only five starters (min. 400 IP) have a lower ERA, and only six have a higher strikeout rate. There is no denying that Ohtani has been a terrific pitcher when he has been healthy enough to take the mound. Alas, injuries have limited the two-way superstar to just 86 starts in seven MLB seasons. He has not pitched in a big league game since August 2023. Of course, that hasn’t stopped him from being one of the best players in the world – he won his third MVP in 2024 without pitching a single inning – but it would be an understatement to say that fans are excited to see him back on the mound in 2025.
Unfortunately, the wait might be longer than initially expected. Not only is Ohtani working his way back from UCL surgery in September 2023, but he is also recovering from surgery on his non-throwing shoulder this past November. In February, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts suggested Ohtani could start facing live batters ahead of the Tokyo Series and return to the team’s rotation at some point in May – perhaps even earlier. As recently as two weeks ago, that still seemed to be the case. This past Thursday, however, the skipper was singing a slightly different tune.
Ohtani has not thrown off of a mound since a bullpen session on February 25. Roberts told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) that the team is being extra cautious with the two-way player as he gets back into games as DH. His last bullpen session came three days before his first Cactus League appearance as a hitter. “We just felt that to intensify the bullpens, alongside of the intensity of the games, wasn’t smart,” Roberts explained. “So we just wanted to kind of slow-play it.”
Asked if Ohtani could still return to the rotation in May, Roberts was noncommittal: “We just don’t know.”
Pitching coach Mark Prior said the Dodgers are “trying to control overall workload management” for Ohtani’s left shoulder. He told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, “There’s a little bit of a shift towards making sure he’s dialed in, ready to go, from a DH standpoint.” Thankfully, Prior does not believe Ohtani’s new timeline is any cause for concern. This isn’t a sign of a major setback; the Dodgers simply seem to be exercising the utmost caution with their most important player. Still, it’s worth noting that Ohtani’s timeline to return looks longer than it did a few weeks ago. As Sonja Chen of MLB.com points out, Ohtani is now unlikely to face live opponents until the team gets back from Tokyo.
As thrilling as it will be to finally see Ohtani back on a big league mound, one absolutely cannot fault the Dodgers for playing things safe. With Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin, and Dustin May in the fold, L.A. isn’t exactly short on rotation depth to begin the season. Moreover, the worst-case scenario is that Ohtani suffers an injury that prevents him from pitching or hitting for any period of time. Needless to say, the Dodgers understand that better than anyone, and they’re taking precautions to avoid such a disaster.
He is too dominant of an offensive force to be trying to pitch still. His numbers have gone up dramatically since he was only a hitter. Hang up the pitching and continue the career as one of the best hitters ever. Let’s see what magic he can do in the outfield.
He’s far from the “best hitter ever”. In fact his best season would only rank as the 12th best of Barry Bonds’ seasons. Do the math.
He never said best hitter ever. He said one of the best hitters ever. Do the reading.
Why isn’t Badfinger in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Rinse and repeat Badfinger…….the list of “best hitters ever” is a long one…he may be on the list after only 7 seasons but he isn’t in the top 10 which we think was somewhat the point….check the list and cut off that digit….
I stand corrected.
Barry’s numbers are tainted by PEDs.
Without the PED’s he would still be Top 5 all time. Babe Ruth didn’t play in the modern era. Barry Bonds did.
No
, he (Bonds) would not be in the top five.
12th on the Bonds scale? Bonds never accomplished a 50/50 season. Ohtani never took ROIDS. Sad that the “greatest hitter ever” still can’t get a ticket to Cooperstown.
How do you know Ohtani hasn’t taken PEDs? Many HOFers took PEDs. The only reason the true greatest player of all time isn’t in the HOF is because he didn’t play nicely with the media.
And because he was a compulsive and unrepentant cheater.
Bonds did have a 40/40 season in ‘96 before he was suspected of taking PEDs.
You mean like Big Papi?
Bull!
The bull was meant for the Tellit fellow.
@tellitlikeitisn’t from fantasyland
Bryan Bello
Grayson Rodriguez
Ty Madden
Andrew Kittridge
Gerrit Cole
Erik Swanson
George Kirby
Non-Dodger arm injuries in the past 72 hours.
It’s everywhere. Or can’t you read?
Try to keep up or tellusgoodbye. Metsera was quite clear on that point.
Nope. Just keep pitching because it’s what he wants to continue to do.
Let’s put everything in ‘gambling terms’ so Shotei understands
Who’s Shotei?
Shohei’s alter ego
His evil twin. Everybody knows he must have one.
@della
Or dumb it down to single syllables for certain Neanderthal posters.
Sal, you want fella to dumb it down for itself? And FBI investigation found Ohtani was not involved. Let’s move on.
And OJ was innocent!
That’s the best response you have? OJ’s case went to trial where they duped a jury. Ohtani’s case was dropped by the FBI because they didn’t have evidence to go any further. What incentive would there be for the FBI to look the other way?
Frowny time.
🙁
MLB has one of the top investigative group of people. For those here who dont know, they have a top team. Yankee fans and soe other bitter people will claim he was involved. It was cllear he was not .
False comparison. Typical straw man argument of those losing an argument.
What are the odds of this working out?
What other parlays could there be too…regarding this?
Gambling is an addiction, you can get help
You can do better than that, come on
My guess is he can’t actually do better. Being a real louse takes dedication and effort.
Lol
And so it begins. I’m guessing every single Dodger$ starter will be on the IL at some point this season. Flawed training techniques.
Said the Giants fan from 4th place.
If thats the case the Dodgers will trade and get more arms. Budget unlimited
As heard on MLB.com radio most of the former pitchers interviewed said it was related to the culture of throwing 100 mph. This is not a Dodger – specific problem, it’s league – wide.
And throwing hard gets more batters out, so that’s what they should be doing. Pitcher injuries will happen regardless of how fast they’re throwing.
Hank, pitching injuries will increase as they throw harder and with more spin/break.
Slow-play Ohtani
“Slow play” is another phrase or way to say “defer”
Boston Bruins “defer” another 50 years for a Stanley Cup title.
The Dodgers don’t actually need Ohtani to pitch in 2025 to win the division.
The Dodgers aren’t being “cautious.” They’re redesigning how a two-way player should be managed to maximize both longevity and playoff impact. Instead of burning Ohtani out by treating him as a normal starter, they may be pioneering a new role: the part-time ace who only pitches when it matters most.
This isn’t just about 2025. This is about ensuring Ohtani is still a dominant two-way force in 2030.
No way is he still pitching in 2030. I’ll bet 3 seasons tops of him doing both. If 3.5 years were the over under, I’d take the under. Just me, you do ypu.
I’d take the over. I don’t see a way where he’s a starter even in a six man rotation getting 25 starts+ a year by 2030. But as a spot starter, occasional relief pitcher, or opener, I think those are all possibilities.
No doubt though his role will change as he ages and as the needs of the team evolve.
Fair call. Makes sense. Baseball routines are rigid. Dodgers seem like a lateral thinker.
That’s why the Dodgers carry so many MLB ready arms, so they don’t have to rush anyone back from anything. Could care less if/when Shohei pitches again, as long as everyone is in agreement he’s healthy and can still perform offensively.
The article says “Ohtani is now unlikely to face live opponents until the team gets back from Tokyo.” Actually, it has been known for months that Ohtani wasn’t going to be in a game any sooner than May, so the significance of “live opponents” is hard to figure, especially once the regular season starts.
I’m pretty sure “live opponents” here means minor leaguers in spring training simulated games to start.
I don’t see how that works. Their next game after returning from Japan is at Dodger Stadium, so I doubt they will go back to Arizona at all.
I would hope they are keeping his surgeon in the decision loop
It would be pretty cool to see him pitch and hit dingers and steal bases from a true baseball fans perspective.
He strikes out way too much to ever be a clutch hitter so they have to have him pitch sometime to get their money’s worth.
Yucki’s complete ignorance about all things baseball shines again.
Actually, not “complete ignorance” on Yucki’s part. When everybody else was playing small ball, in that 5th inning of game 5 of last year’s WS, there was Ohtani swinging for the fences. Result: he struck out.
Ohtani bet on baseball. Yeet him into the Pacific Ocean.
We really need a few more Dave draveckys in mlb