Shohei Ohtani has not pitched on the mound since the 2023 season with the Los Angeles Angels. In September 2023, he had a hybrid Tommy John surgery.
During the MLB offseason, Ohtani had surgery on the labrum of his non-throwing shoulder. It will be interesting to see if he pitches at all this season for the Dodgers. Many were looking forward to him returning to the mound. During the 2023 season with the Angels, he pitched in 23 games before being shut down.
Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts Provides Update On Shohei Ohtani
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently discussed Ohtani’s progress on the mound entering the 2025 season. The Athletic reported that Roberts said his progress had been slowed down to give him a break from pitching. He has not stopped throwing, but the Dodgers want to manage his workload.
The Dodgers manager said, “We just felt that to intensify the bullpens alongside the intensity of the games wasn’t smart. So we just wanted to kind of slow-play it.”
The team was hoping that he would be ready to pitch again in May, but it appears that may not happen. Roberts also added, “I just feel, and we all feel, (that we’re) just trying to make it a broad time to return. We just don’t know. And so I think that when he’s ready, when the process, the progression, as it’s going on, we’ll know. But I don’t want to put any kind of expectation on you guys or Shohei.”
With Ohtani not being one of the Dodgers’ starting pitchers to start the season, it remains to be seen what the starting rotation will look like. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki are projected to be four of the starting pitchers in Los Angeles’s rotation this season.
Clayton Kershaw or Dustin May could very well be the fifth starter for the Dodgers. With the Dodgers’ depth on this roster, there may not be a need for Ohtani to pitch anyway. Los Angeles has so much depth on the roster, and they can afford to just have Ohtani be the designated hitter.
He won the National League MVP in 2024. In 159 games played last season with the Dodgers, he had a .310 batting average with 54 home runs and 130 RBIs, along with 59 stolen bases and four caught stealing attempts. His on-base percentage was .390.