Shohei Ohtani ranks among the all-time greats of Major League Baseball with his unique abilities as an elite two-way player. However, he has yet to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers since signing a 10-year, $700 million contract ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Ohtani was prohibited from taking the mound after undergoing elbow surgery during his final season with the Los Angeles Angels. Nevertheless, he won a third MVP title last year purely as a hitter, becoming the first player to win the award solely as a DH.
Dodgers Manager Teases Fans on Shohei Ohtani’s Return to the Mound Before the All-Star Break
The Dodgers have been slowly but steadily working their way towards getting Ohtani ready to take a major league mound once again. He started his rehab process in spring training with the objective of pitching for the team in the MLB at some point this year.
On Tuesday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that the three-time MVP could potentially make his pitching debut for the team before the All-Star break next month. Ohtani has apparently been making rapid progress towards his return to the mound.
The comments from Roberts came just a couple of hours after Ohtani had taken part in the third simulated game of his rehab stint. He threw 44 pitches in total during his session, recording six strikeouts while inducing 15 whiffs.
“It’s tempting. I’m sure Shohei feels tempted to just kind of rip the band-aid off and get into a big-league game. But I think we’re doing a good job of being patient,” Roberts told reporters on whether Ohtani could pitch for the Dodgers before the All-Star break.
“It certainly doesn’t have to be a full buildup because anything he can give us is certainly additive,” Roberts said. “But I still stand by him, and Dr. (Neal) ElAttrache and the training staff are going to drive this. I’m just anxious for the next one.”
Full segment on Shohei Ohtani’s 3rd live BP. Comments from Mark Prior and Dave Roberts. Looked good today. Faced 11 batters, 44 pitches and 6 K’s! It was reported that his FB was 93-96 mph.
©️SportsNetLA pic.twitter.com/NikqXHy5U5— James¹⁷¹⁸🎌 (@ShotimeLAD) June 11, 2025
Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior also offered his thoughts on the sim game session. He said the fastball averaged in the mid-90s. Meanwhile, Ohtani had also incorporated a slide step while pitching from the stretch to hold down baserunners.
“I thought he was in command the whole time today,” Prior told reporters before their game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. “I mean, you’re just sitting back and just watching it. There wasn’t a whole lot to say.”
“I mean, he was doing whatever he wanted with the baseball, with every pitch he wanted to. He felt very convicted and confident in every pitch that he threw that he was going to get a guy out. So those are all positive signs.”
Despite the encouraging remarks, Prior believes there is still some time before Ohtani makes his much-anticipated pitching debut for the Dodgers. He underlined a benchmark that the 31-year-old would have reached before getting the clearance.
“You start getting into the 60- and 70-pitch range, then you can start envisioning and dreaming about being in a game,” Prior said. “Then you know that he has the volume under him to go out there and at least take down multiple innings in a real game.”
The Dodgers are leading a tight race in the National League West with a 40-28 record. However, they have several key arms missing from their rotation and bullpen, so any cover that Ohtani could provide to their pitching staff would be more than welcome.