Shohei Ohtani

Poll: NL MVP Race Check-In

By Nick Deeds | June 25, 2025 at 3:05pm CDT

While days off and postponements leave clubs around the league without a uniform number of games played, one of the games in this week’s slate will represent the halfway point in the season for every team across MLB. Who are the frontrunners to claim the MVP Award this offseason? MLBTR’s look at the American League saw Aaron Judge come away with 55% of the vote, and today we’ll be checking out the National League:

Shohei Ohtani

The reigning NL MVP hasn’t slowed down much after his 50-50 2024 campaign. Ohtani is slashing an incredible .289/.388/.627 (174 wRC+) through 78 games this year, with 27 home runs and 11 steals during that time. His status as a DH holds him back somewhat in terms of WAR, but he’s still second in the NL among hitters according to Fangraphs. He leads the league in homers and slugging percentage and clocks in within the top five in terms of on-base percentage. Ohtani’s expected numbers are quite good as well, as his .435 xwOBA is actually better than his wOBA and trails only Juan Soto among NL hitters. Of course, the real ace in the hole for Ohtani is the fact that he’s returning to pitching this year. He’s only thrown two innings so far, but his stuff has looked good in those abbreviated outings and he figures to only ramp up the volume as the season progresses.

Ohtani’s unicorn status as the only true two-way player in the sport will likely make him a frontrunner for the MVP Award every season until he either starts facing significant decline or retires from pitching. That said, he does not currently hold sole possession of the NL lead for fWAR even when combining his pitching and hitting numbers this year. His offensive numbers have not been quite as robust as they were last year, and he notably is not stealing bases anywhere near as frequently as he did when he was the second most valuable baserunner in the NL last season. For a player who’s won an MVP award in three of the last four seasons, voter fatigue can be a consideration as well; just ask Ohtani’s former teammate Mike Trout about the 2015 season. Will those potential weak spots be enough to let another player overcome him?

Pete Crow-Armstrong

The dynamic 23-year-old’s breakout has been one of the biggest stories in the entire sport this year. Despite entering the 2025 season as a career 82 wRC+ hitter across parts of two seasons in the majors, Crow-Armstrong has slashed .273/.310/.563 (140 wRC+) across 78 games. That’s a very low on-base percentage for an MVP candidate, but Crow-Armstrong makes up for that flaw by being elite in every other regard. He’s fifth in the NL with 21 home runs, his 24 stolen bases are second only to Oneil Cruz, and he’s one of the most valuable defenders in the entire sport with +10 Outs Above Average. Taken together, it’s enough to give Crow-Armstrong a 4.0 fWAR figure that leads the league among hitters, and is tied with Ohtani when the latter’s work on the mound is factored in.

For those less statistically inclined, the fact that his breakout has been key to the Cubs’ ascent from mediocrity to become one of the league’s heavyweights could hold value with voters who differentiate between the “most valuable” player in the league and the “best” player in the league. Even with all of that going for him, it’s hard to consider Crow-Armstrong the favorite. Ohtani’s star power and uniqueness as a two-way player is difficult to match, and if he’s able to pitch effectively throughout the second half, it will be very difficult for Crow-Armstrong to not fall behind on the WAR leaderboard. What’s more, advanced metrics are somewhat skeptical of his offensive performance this year, as his .356 xwOBA is 16 points lower than his actual wOBA of .372. Crow-Armstrong’s plate discipline issues go beyond his anemic walk rate; he swings more often than any qualified hitter in baseball but has a below-average contact rate both overall and more specifically on pitches within the strike zone.

James Wood

He’s lagging behind both Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong at this point, but Wood has been every bit the phenom the Nationals hoped he would be when acquiring him as part of the Juan Soto trade back in 2022. He’s hitting .281/.377/.561 (158 wRC+) in 80 games to go along with nine steals and solid defense in left field. His underlying offensive metrics are also immaculate, with top of the scale expected numbers, elite bat speed, and a 99th percentile barrel rate. It’s an exciting offensive performance, particularly from a player who’s just 22 years old. Some MVP voters could also hold the fact that Wood and his Nationals are not contenders against the budding young star.

Fernando Tatis Jr.

Tatis is a familiar face in the NL MVP race, as he finished fourth for the award in 2020 before coming in third the following year. Injuries, a PED suspension, and a move from shortstop to right field have all changed the way Tatis is viewed around the league in the years since. That hasn’t stopped him from remaining a force within the Padres lineup, and this year he’s been one of the better all-around players in the NL. He’s slashing .264/.352/.459 (129 wRC+) with 15 homers and 15 steals, and his defensive value is second only to Crow-Armstrong among NL outfielders. Tatis also benefits from strong underlying numbers; his .390 xwOBA is 37 points higher than his .353 wOBA, and if he can play closer to those expected numbers in the second half, he could push his way up to the top of some ballots.

Other Options

While Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong appear to be the clear frontrunners at this point, Wood and Tatis aren’t the only potential challengers. Corbin Carroll is in the midst of a sensational season and was right there in the mix with the top two until news a wrist fracture yesterday left it uncertain when he’ll take the field next. Trea Turner and Kyle Tucker have both been excellent and could find themselves more firmly in this conversation if things break right in the second half. Will Smith is one of the league’s top hitters this year with a 170 wRC+ made all the more impressive by his status as a regular catcher, but he’s only played in 63 games so far.

Juan Soto’s first half has been somewhat disappointing by his standards (147 wRC+), but he’s on an absolute tear right now and his .458 xwOBA is right in line with last year’s monster performance. Elly De La Cruz is flirting with pace for a 40-40 season but hasn’t been nearly as rangy at shortstop this season in the eyes of defensive metrics, which has weighed him down a bit. He could still easily emerge as a candidate with a big second half. Paul Skenes, Logan Webb, and Zack Wheeler are all in the midst of dominant seasons on the mound, but it’s somewhat rare for a pitcher to win the MVP award.

Who do you think will ultimately come out on top in NL MVP voting? Will Ohtani reign supreme once again, or could another challenger like Crow-Armstrong step up to claim the trophy? Have your say in the poll below:

Shohei Ohtani To Make Dodgers Pitching Debut On Monday

By Nick Deeds | June 15, 2025 at 10:58pm CDT

Dodgers fans have been waiting for more than a year to see Shohei Ohtani pitch in a major league game in for the club, and that wait might finally be over. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times) that Ohtani will “most likely” make his pitching debut during the Dodgers’ series against the Padres this week. Shortly thereafter, the Dodgers announced that their two-way superstar will start against San Diego in tomorrow night’s game.

It’s a long-awaited return that’s coming much earlier than expected. While offseason expectations placed Ohtani’s return to the mound from his September 2023 elbow surgery at some point in May, but those hopes were squashed when his pitching rehab was paused in late February. Ohtani resumed ramping up shortly after Opening Day, but the star’s timetable for return has been kept extremely vague by Dodgers officials ever since. For most of the season, Ohtani’s return to pitching had been anticipated at some point in the second half, though earlier this week Roberts hinted at the possibility that Ohtani could return at some point before the All-Star break.

Still, Ohtani’s timeline having been bumped up to tomorrow night puts him back on a big league mound a month earlier than even the most generous of expectations. The narrative surrounding Ohtani’s return to pitching shifted rapidly throughout the day today, with Roberts telling reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic) earlier this afternoon that the plan was for Ohtani to face hitters early this week before “potentially” making his return to the big league pitching staff. Last night, Ohtani himself was vaguely alluding to the possibility that he could return earlier than anticipated, as Ardaya notes that he playfully asked, “What do you think?” when asked if he’ll return to the mound before the All-Star break before acknowledging that “something like that” was on the table.

After today’s win over the Giants, Roberts retracted his previous comments about Ohtani facing live hitters this week and noted that he would likely pitch as an opener at some point during this week’s series against San Diego, and that timeline was pushed up further by the organization’s announcement that he will be on the mound opposite Dylan Cease tomorrow evening. Despite the seemingly rapid and somewhat haphazard way the decision to start Ohtani tomorrow night came together, it seems clear the organization feels he’s ready to pitch in games. His latest session on the mound last week, which lasted three simulated innings and 44 pitches, drew rave reviews from Dodgers brass. Pitching coach Mark Prior told reporters (including Ardaya) that “he was doing whatever he wanted with the baseball, with every pitch he wanted to” during Tuesday’s session.

It should be noted that expectations must be tempered for Ohtani’s start tomorrow night. He’s starting the game as an opener, and there’s no expectation that he’ll be able to pitch especially deep into the game. As Roberts told reporters (including ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez) this evening, at least Ohtani’s first few appearances seem likely to be closer to rehab appearances than full starts. It’s long been known that Ohtani wouldn’t have a traditional rehab opportunity due to his importance for the Dodgers as their regular DH, and Roberts indicated this evening that cooling off after a simulated game and then heating back up to hit in that evening’s Dodgers game was actually more taxing for him than it would’ve been to pitch and hit in the same game. That combined with the fact that Ohtani won’t count against the club’s 13-pitcher roster limit and the superstar’s own desire to start pitching in big league games was enough to convince the organization to let him start tomorrow night’s game.

Even if it should be viewed more through the lens of a rehab outing rather than a traditional start, Ohtani’s return to the mound will be a boost for a beleaguered Dodgers pitching staff. Right-hander Ben Casparius was previously scheduled to start tomorrow night’s game for Los Angeles, but threw just 54 pitches in his last outing and was sure to tax the club’s bullpen at least somewhat when used as a starter. With Ohtani likely to handle the first inning or two of the game, perhaps he and Casparius can combine to offer the Dodgers the same amount of length that a more traditional starter could be penciled in for. That should be very helpful for a relief corps that’s likely to be taxed by a bullpen game on Tuesday followed by what figures to be an abbreviated start from right-hander Emmet Sheehan in his first appearance following his expected activation from the injured list later this week.

It’s unclear exactly when Ohtani is expected to be built up enough to serve as a full-fledged starter rather than just open games for the Dodgers, but perhaps his workload in tomorrow night’s game can provide some insight into that question. In the meantime, the Dodgers will surely be happy to have any innings he can offer as they continue to piece together starts amid a rash of injuries that have already sent a majority of the club’s Opening Day rotation to the injured list.

Roberts: Chance Of Ohtani Pitching Before All-Star Break Is “North Of Zero”

By Nick Deeds | June 10, 2025 at 7:38pm CDT

Shohei Ohtani threw his third live session against hitters today and, as Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times relays, his 44 pitches across three simulated innings of work went so well that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went as far as to admit that the organization hasn’t completely ruled out the idea of Ohtani returning to the mound sooner than previously expected. The expectation in recent weeks has been that Ohtani would return to the mound at some point following the All-Star break, which runs from July 14 to July 17 this year. Today, however, Harris notes that Roberts indicated to reporters that there’s a “north of zero” chance that Ohtani is pitching in major league games before the break.

It’s a notable update on Ohtani’s timeline, even though Roberts’s phrasing hardly frames the idea of a return before the midsummer classic as guaranteed or even likely. Ohtani’s timeline has been kept extremely vague by Dodgers officials ever since he began ramping up shortly after Opening Day after his pitching rehab was paused in late February. Prior to that pause, the Dodgers were thought to be targeting a return to pitching at some point in May for Ohtani, but the timeline was pushed back to at some point in the second half after the club began to slow down his rehab process. In recent weeks, Roberts and team officials had begun to point to the All-Star break as the point after which Ohtani pitching in big league games for the Dodgers could be on the table.

That the possibility of him pitching before then has been acknowledged publicly at this point underscores that his rehab has been going quite well to this point, but could also be an acknowledgement of the Dodgers’ significant needs in the rotation. The Dodgers sport a 40-27 record at the moment that’s excellent on paper but doesn’t quite live up to the lofty expectations hoisted upon the reigning World Series champs before the season began. They’re just 1.5 games up on the Giants in the NL West, and would finish half a game back of the Cubs for a bye through the Wild Card round of the playoffs if the season ended today.

Issues with starting pitching have been the biggest thing holding the Dodgers back from pulling away from the rest of the league this year, as their 4.66 FIP in the rotation is worse than every NL club except the lowly Rockies. With eight starting pitchers currently on the IL and Ohtani also sidelined, L.A. is currently operating with a patchwork rotation that features Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw, and Justin Wrobleski. Yamamoto is in the NL Cy Young conversation this year, but Kershaw and especially May have pitched more like back-of-the-rotation veterans this year than the dominant arms they’ve been in previous seasons. Virtually any rotation in baseball would be better off with Ohtani’s electric arm in the mix, but the state of the Dodgers’ pitching staff could make them especially eager to get Ohtani back into the fold.

Of course, that’s not to say they’re about the rush their two-way superstar back into pitching before they’re confident he’s ready. It would have been easy for the Dodgers to make Ohtani in at least some capacity during last year’s playoff run, when the pitching staff was down so many starters they had to run regular bullpen games throughout the playoffs. They elected not to do so, however, instead prioritizing making sure Ohtani was fully healthy and ready to resume pitching before risking putting him on the mound in a big league game again. Even with today’s comments from Roberts, there’s little reason to think the Dodgers would send Ohtani out to the mound at Dodger Stadium before the break unless they’re completely confident he’s ready to resume pitching at a high level.

NL West Notes: King, Waldron, Ohtani, Giants

By Nick Deeds | May 31, 2025 at 10:38pm CDT

The Padres provided an update on the status of right-hander Michael King earlier today, as relayed by Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The good news is that King’s shoulder issue, which sent him to the injured list just last weekend, is not structural in nature. Rather, Sanders writes that the right-hander is dealing with a pinched nerve. Less fortunate, however, is that the Padres remain in the dark about what King’s timetable for a return to action will ultimately look like.

“Now that we’ve been able to locate what the issue is … just trying to get a handle on how to release that nerve a little bit that’s preventing that (scapula) from being able to fire appropriately,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said, as relayed by Sanders. “We’ve got some really smart people, including Michael himself, involved with that process that will get that going as soon as possible, and how soon that is is to the discretion of that nerve.”

The cause of the pinched nerve isn’t known, though King was initially scratched from his start last week due to discomfort in his shoulder after sleeping on it uncomfortably the night prior. Sanders adds that King sought a second opinion on the issue earlier this week and that, because he’s already started to improve, the Padres are not yet ruling out him resuming playing catch by the end of next week. That would potentially allow him to return to the rotation shortly after his minimum stint on the injured list expires without a rehab start, although ultimately King won’t be able to return until the nerve issue has completely resolved itself. Sanders suggests that right-hander Matt Waldron, who pitched 146 2/3 innings for San Diego last year but has been sidelined all season so far due to an oblique strain, could be ready to return from the injured list in the near future and take up King’s rotation spot while he’s on the shelf.

More from around the NL West…

The Dodgers watched as Shohei Ohtani continued his slow-going return to pitching earlier today, as Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report that the superstar threw two innings of live BP against the Dodgers’ minor league hitters this afternoon. Harris notes that’s a slight uptick from last week’s 22 pitches, and that Ohtani recorded one strikeout and one walk along during the session. After the session, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including USA Today’s Bob Nightengale) that the outing was a “positive” one for Ohtani, though his command wasn’t quite as sharp as his last time out. That Ohtani is continuing to make progress in his rehab is encouraging, although he remains expected to not pitch until some point in the second half of the season. Fortunately, rehabbing hasn’t seemed to slow him down one bit at the plate, as he entered play today slashing .294/.394/.670 with a 187 wRC+, 22 homers and 11 steals.
The Giants could be looking to make a change at first base in the near future, even with top prospect Bryce Eldridge not yet at Triple-A. As Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on yesterday, the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento tabbed former top prospect Marco Luciano to serve as their first baseman in a game earlier this week. It’s a new position for the 23-year-old, who has already appeared at second base, shortstop, and in left field over the years, but Rubin notes that the River Cats are expected to continue using Luciano at first going forward as concern mounts about the club’s production at the position in the majors. LaMonte Wade Jr. is the club’s starter at the position, but after entering the year with a 115 wRC+ in a Giants uniform he’s slashed just .171/.278/.279 with a wRC+ of 60 across 48 games. Luciano has yet to hit in the majors himself, with a career 68 wRC+ in the majors, but even his meager production in 126 career plate appearances would be an improvement over Wade’s numbers this season. Plus, Luciano is a former consensus top-20 prospect in the sport who may be able to tap into that potential if offered regular reps at the big league level. While Luciano begins to learn the new position, the Giants will hope that Jerar Encarnación’s eventual return from the injured list is enough to help improve the club’s first base production going forward.

Shohei Ohtani Throws Live Batting Practice

By Anthony Franco | May 25, 2025 at 3:00pm CDT

TODAY: Ohtani threw 22 pitches over three batters faced in today’s live BP, according to MLB.com’s Sonja Chen and other members of the Dodgers beat. Ohtani stuck to mostly fastballs, with “a couple of sweepers and a splitter,” Chen writes.

MAY 24: Shohei Ohtani will hit a milestone this weekend in his return to pitching. He’s slated to throw live batting practice to teammates before Sunday night’s game at Citi Field (link via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). It will be his first time throwing to hitters since his 2023 elbow surgery. Ohtani was initially expected to throw BP on Saturday, but the Dodgers pushed that back after last night’s 13-inning game — which also featured an early rain delay — went until 1:00 in the morning on the East Coast.

Ohtani has been throwing bullpen sessions for the past couple months. He got up to 50 pitches last weekend and has thrown his fastball in the mid-90s. Ardaya writes that Ohtani recently began to reintroduce his breaking stuff into those exercises. He’s still not expected to pitch in games until after the All-Star Break.

The Dodgers face a unique ramp-up process with the three-time MVP. He’s working back from his second major elbow operation. That’d have warranted caution even if he were just a pitcher. Every other pitcher would spend multiple weeks on a minor league rehab assignment before returning to an MLB mound. The Dodgers aren’t going to take Ohtani’s bat out of the big league lineup to do that. He required offseason surgery on his non-throwing shoulder after tearing his labrum on a slide during the World Series. They’ll also need to monitor his overall fatigue level as he builds his arm while continuing to hit every day. He has started 49 of their first 51 games at designated hitter.

That all produces a complicated rehab plan that has moved quite slowly. It has now been 20 months since Ohtani underwent the UCL repair that ended his Angels tenure. It hasn’t at all slowed his offensive dominance, of course. He has followed up last year’s unprecedented 50-50 season with a .302/.397/.643 line through 232 plate appearances. He leads the majors with 53 runs and is tied with Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber and Cal Raleigh for the league lead with 17 homers.

Dodgers Notes: Kershaw, Edman, Hernandez, Ohtani

By Nick Deeds | May 17, 2025 at 8:17pm CDT

Longtime face of the Dodgers’ franchise and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw is making his 2025 season debut against the Angels this evening, and ahead of the start of his 18th season in the majors the veteran spoke to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic about his drive to continue his playing career.

“I don’t really understand that question,” Kershaw said, as relayed by Ardaya, when asked why he’s continuing his career. “People ask me that. Why not just ride off into the sunset? I’m 37. I have a long time ahead of me. Baseball is fun. So why not? As of today, that’s my answer, yeah.”

Kershaw, of course, has flirted with the possibility of retirement from time to time over the years. After winning a second World Series championship with the Dodgers last year and being forced to end his season in August due to injuries that eventually required surgery on his left plantar plate and to repair a torn left meniscus over the winter. He’s been rehabbing ever since, and enters this year playing on a one-year deal that guarantees him just $7.5MM, although incentives based on starts made and time on the active roster could bring that total up to $15MM by the end of the season depending on his health.

The southpaw is already a slam-dunk Hall of Famer and one of the greatest pitchers of the 21st century, but there are some career milestones left for him to conquer. For one thing, he’s 32 strikeouts away from being the 20th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 for his career. The 257 1/3 innings he’d still need in order to join the 3,000 innings club isn’t a goal he can reach this season, but after pitching 258 innings total in 2022 and ’23 it’s not hard to imagine him reaching that milestone before his 40th birthday should he decide to continue his career for that long.

One other motivator for Kershaw could be that neither of his World Series rings have come with the full experience: the Dodgers couldn’t hold a parade in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Kershaw was not on the field with his teammates for their championship last year due to injuries. Kershaw confirmed that his inability to participate down the stretch last year was a source of frustration.

“Nobody wants to just sit around,” Kershaw said, as relayed by Ardaya. “I want to pitch, and contribute, and be a part of it. Last year was difficult. Obviously, fun to at least be a part of it and see us win and things like that. You always want to be a part of a great team. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Dodgers Notes: Gonsolin, Snell, Ohtani

By Nick Deeds | April 27, 2025 at 9:00am CDT

The Dodgers are set to get some rotation reinforcements this week, as manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Associated Press) yesterday that right-hander Tony Gonsolin is expected to return from the injured list to start Wednesday’s game against the Marlins.

It will mark Gonsolin’s first appearance on a big league mound in nearly two full years. The right-hander last pitched on August 18, 2023 (against the Marlins, coincidentally) but surrendered ten runs on five homers in 3 1/3 innings of work after having pitched through arm troubles for weeks. That final difficult start capped off a six-start stretch where Gonsolin surrendered an 8.01 ERA in 30 1/3 innings of work, so it’s not hard to see the impact Gonsolin’s woes had on his effectiveness. The right-hander was placed on the IL after that mid-August start and underwent Tommy John surgery on September 1.

He missed the entire 2024 season as a result of his rehab despite flirting with the possibility of a late-season return, and entered Spring Training fully healthy and ready to battle for a rotation job this spring. Unfortunately, the injury bug once again bit him when he was hit with a bout of back tightness late in the spring. That led to another season started on the injured list, but now he looks poised to finally get back on the major league mound as a starting pitcher. That’s the role he held for the entirety of his best season in the majors, when he made the 2022 NL All-Star team on the back of a 2.14 ERA in 130 1/3 innings of work across 24 starts.

Whether he’ll keep that role long-term or move to the bullpen at some point this year remains to be seen. It wouldn’t be a shock to see a strong performance keep Gonsolin in the mix for starts all year long, but he does have some big league experience as a reliever and the Dodgers’ on-paper rotation is extremely crowded when anything close to fully healthy. When the club’s rotation mix is firing on all cylinders, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Dustin May, and Roki Sasaki all seem likely to be ahead of Gonsolin on the organizational depth chart. With that being said, the Dodgers’ rotation mix is far from healthy at the moment, so Gonsolin should get a reasonably long runway as he looks to earn a more permanent spot on the starting staff.

Speaking of those rotation injuries, Roberts provided reporters (including ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez) with an update regarding Snell on Friday. Per Roberts, an MRI Snell underwent earlier in the week revealed “no new findings” beyond his previously-known shoulder inflammation. The manager added that he believes the club has “dodged a bullet” by shutting Snell down before the injury became more serious. The southpaw was set to receive an injection to help battle the inflammation but has yet to begin a throwing program. That leaves a timetable for his return to action somewhat murky, though Roberts suggested that the lack of structural damage leaves the door open for a somewhat quicker return to action.

Barring further setbacks, it seems as though Snell should at least be back on a big league mound before Ohtani. The two-way superstar threw his first bullpen session since returning from paternity leave yesterday, as relayed by MLB.com’s Sonja Chen. After not throwing last Saturday during his absence, Ohtani played catch rather than throw off the mound on Wednesday and limited his bullpen session yesterday to just 31 pitches, but he’s expected to resume his regular schedule of light mound work on Wednesdays and a full bullpen session on Saturdays this coming week.

While it’s good that Ohtani has resumed throwing, it appears that there’s been little progress in terms of his actual readiness of MLB games. He’s still limited to just fastballs and splitters for the time being, and won’t advance to facing live hitters until he’s utilizing his entire pitch mix. Club GM Brandon Gomes discussed Ohtani’s slow-going rehab with reporters (including Chen) yesterday, calling it “a week-by-week process.”

“We have a general sense, we’ve got to make sure that he’s feeling good and we’re being smart so we can’t lose the offensive side of it as well,” Gomes said, as relayed by Chen. “In a lot of these rehabs, you kind of set a date and work backward. I think on this one, you’re moving forward, because it’s a one-of-one type thing.”

While the Dodgers floated the month of May as a potential timeline for Ohtani’s return during the winter, Ohtani’s pitching build up was paused prior to L.A.’s series against the Cubs in Tokyo. That pushed back his timeline, and while no dates have been floated for his return since then it seems likely that he’ll resume pitching in the majors again at some point in the second half.

Dodgers Activate Shohei Ohtani, Designate Eddie Rosario For Assignment

By Nick Deeds | April 20, 2025 at 9:46am CDT

The Dodgers announced this morning that they have designated outfielder Eddie Rosario for assignment. The move comes in order to create a roster spot for Shohei Ohtani, who is returning to the club from the paternity list after he and his wife announced the birth of their daughter yesterday on social media.

Rosario, 33, always figured to be a temporary addition to the Dodgers roster. Now a veteran of 11 MLB seasons, Rosario spent the first portion of his MLB career as an effective and reliable corner bat for the Twins. He slashed .277/.310/.478 across 697 games in a Twins uniform, good for a 106 wRC+ that jumped up to 112 when looking only at his final four seasons with the team. During that stretch from 2017 to 2020, Rosario showed consistent 25-homer power and paired it with an impressively low 16.5% strikeout rate. That allowed him to offer a valuable blend of power and contact.

In the years since then, however, Rosario’s been an at times solid but largely inconsistent hitter. Playing for Cleveland, Atlanta, and D.C. from 2021 to 2024, Rosario slashed just .231/.278/.396 (82 wRC+) overall as his strikeout rate climbed to 21.6% while his power declined noticeably. The 2021 and ’23 seasons saw Rosario play at a roughly league average level overall with a 100 wRC+ in both seasons, with flashes of 20-homer pop making him a capable hitter despite the increased strikeout rate. 2022 saw him struggle badly at the plate (63 wRC+) due to vision problems that were ultimately corrected, while his problems at the dish (45 wRC+) in 2024 came in spite of him being generally healthy.

That lackluster performance was enough to force Rosario to take a minor league deal with the Dodgers this winter, and he didn’t make the roster out of camp due to Teoscar Hernandez, Michael Conforto, and Ohtani blocking him in the outfield corners and at DH. Rosario was selected to the roster earlier this week to replace Ohtani in the lineup while he went on the paternity list. His brief stay in the majors this year saw him hit just .250/.250/.250 with a 41 wRC+, but it should be noted that he didn’t record a single strikeout and made several loud outs during his extremely brief, two-game trip back up to the majors. Going forward, the Dodgers will have one week to either trade Rosario or place him on waivers, where he could be claimed by any club. If he goes unclaimed, Rosario will have the choice to either accept an outright assignment back to Triple-A with the Dodgers or else head to free agency and look for a better opportunity elsewhere.

As for Ohtani, the reigning NL MVP rejoins a Dodgers club that suffered a frustrating walk-off loss to the Rangers last night. Prior to his trip to the paternity list, Ohtani was excellent as ever with a .288/.380/.550 slash line across 20 games and 92 plate appearances this year, with six home runs and five stolen bases. Needless to say, the superstar figures to reclaim his spot atop the Dodgers’ lineup as their everyday DH now that he’s back with the club.

Dodgers To Select Eddie Rosario, Place Shohei Ohtani On Paternity List

By Darragh McDonald | April 18, 2025 at 5:55pm CDT

The Dodgers are going to select outfielder Eddie Rosario to their roster. He will take the active roster spot of designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, who is going on the paternity list. Right-hander Edgardo Henriquez will go on the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot for Rosario. The club hasn’t announced any of the moves yet. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic first reported that Rosario was with the club in Arlington and that Ohtani would be going on the paternity list. Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register relayed that Henriquez would be the corresponding move.

Rosario, 33, signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in the offseason. He has started the season in Triple-A and put up a massive .339/.406/.542 line in 14 games at that level. That’s in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and he won’t be able to run a .419 batting average on balls in play forever, but he has a couple of home runs and is drawing walks at an 11.6% pace.

He has been incredibly streaky in recent years, so the Dodgers will see if they can ride the hot hand while Ohtani is attending the birth of his child. Rosario was actually pretty steady from 2017 to 2020, hitting .281/.317/.493 in that time for a 112 wRC+. But in 2021, he was down to .254/.296/.389 and an 88 wRC+ when he was flipped to Atlanta. He turned hot again at that time, hitting .271/.330/.573 for a 137 wRC+ with his new club. His hot/cold act continued into the playoffs, as he won NLCS MVP by hitting .560/.607/1.040 in that series. He then dropped to .227/.346/.318 during the World Series but Atlanta won it all regardless.

The seesaw production has continued since then. He hit .212/.259/.328 for a 63 wRC+ in 2022, then .255/.305/.450 for a 100 wRC+ in 2023, before dropping to .175/.215/.316 and a 45 wRC+ last year. As mentioned, he had to settle for a minor league deal with the Dodgers coming into this year. He had a rough .154/.241/.423 line in the spring before getting in a groove with Oklahoma City.

Paternity list stints last just one to three games, so Rosario might be in for a short stint on the roster while Ohtani is away. Perhaps he could stick around if he continues his recent hot streak, but that would mean giving up on someone else. Andy Pages is the only position player on the roster who can be optioned, and he’s getting regular playing time in the outfield. Players like Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernández aren’t hitting much but they provide more positional flexibility than Rosario, who can only play the outfield corners.

As for Henriquez, in early March, he suffered a left foot fracture in mysterious fashion. Manager Dave Roberts said only that there was some off-field “mishap”. His timeline is unclear but this transfer means he’s ineligible to return to the club until the middle of May at the earliest.

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

NL West Notes: Ohtani, Gomber, Birdsong

By Nick Deeds | April 5, 2025 at 10:05pm CDT

The Dodgers have been taking things slowly with superstar Shohei Ohtani as he prepares for his return to pitching. After just over a month off from regular bullpen sessions, Ohtani resumed throwing last weekend and threw another bullpen session earlier today. As noted by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, Ohtani threw 26 pitches, and for the first time this year he included his splitter in the bullpen session. This came after what Plunkett described as a “light” bullpen session on Thursday. While that’s a noticeable ramp-up in activity, it shouldn’t be mistaken for the Dodgers accelerating Ohtani’s timeline back to the big league mound.

According to Plunkett, manager Dave Roberts indicated that the club hopes to replicate something akin to the schedule Ohtani will have when he returns to the big league mound as a starter by having him throw off the mound twice a week: once with a lighter bullpen session on Thursday followed by a full session on Saturday. Despite the superstar now getting back on the mound somewhat regularly, Plunkett notes that there’s still a long way to go before he’ll be ready to pitch in a big league game for the Dodgers. He relays that, per Roberts, the next step for Ohtani would be to incorporate his entire arsenal into his bullpen sessions rather than exclusively fastballs and an occasional splitter.

It won’t be until Ohtani is using his full arsenal that facing live hitters in simulated games, which the Dodgers plan to use in lieu of a rehab assignment to get Ohtani up to game speed while still allowing him to continue serving as their everyday DH in the lineup, is on the table. He’ll surely need several of those outings before he’s ready to get into games, and Plunkett suggests that at this point a realistic timeline for Ohtani’s pitching debut with the Dodgers would be sometime in June “at the earliest.” In the meantime, the Dodgers are utilizing a rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and Dustin May. Both Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin could also return from the injured list before Ohtani is ready to pitch, giving the Dodgers a host of potential options for the rotation.

More from around the NL West…

Rockies southpaw Austin Gomber began the season on the injured list due to soreness in his left shoulder, and while he was sent out for a rehab assignment just after Opening Day with an eye towards returning after just the first couple of weeks of the season, he was scratched from his next rehab start due to shoulder inflammation. That paved the way for Colorado to promote Chase Dollander to the big leagues, and Thomas Harding of MLB.com spoke to Gomber in more detail about the situation today. According to Harding, Gomber wasn’t able to pitch at maximum effectiveness during his rehab start even after receiving an anti-inflammatory injection in his shoulder. As a result, Gomber noted that the plan now is for him to have a slower and “more traditional” rehab process. He won’t throw for another week while the inflammation calms down, and will likely not return to the mound for another two or three weeks after that.
While the Giants initially planned to use young right-hander Hayden Birdsong as a long reliever and piggyback starter after he lost out on the fifth starter job to Landen Roupp, it appears that may no longer be in the cards. As noted by Justice delos Santos of Mercury News, manager Bob Melvin told reporters today that the club is now treating Birdsong as a “true reliever” after his limited usage to begin the season. Birdsong has appeared just once in the Giants’ first week of games, making a two-inning appearance that saw him throw just 27 pitches. With Birdsong no longer stretched out as a starter for the time being, Melvin suggested that a one-inning appearance for the righty could be on the table. Birdsong pitched exclusively as a starter in the majors last year, with a 4.75 ERA in 16 starts, and hadn’t made a relief appearance in the major or minor leagues at the Double-A level or higher at any point in his career prior to his 2025 debut.

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