Ohtani Will NOT Pitch Before the All-Star Game: Dodgers Rule Out Early Return

Shohei Ohtani Progresses in His Pitching Recovery: On the Mound Soon?

Shohei Ohtani, the star of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has taken a significant step in his return as a pitcher. On Tuesday afternoon, he held a simulated session at Petco Park, throwing 44 pitches in three innings. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has indicated that there is a “greater than zero chance” that Ohtani will join the team’s rotation before the All-Star break. It seems more likely that Ohtani will return as a pitcher in July, rather than August, which was previously considered the most likely target. One of the key reasons, besides the impression Ohtani has made despite his absence of almost two years as a pitcher, is the extra space in the Dodgers’ roster. Ohtani has the designation of “two-way player”, which, according to a rule established by Major League Baseball in 2019, allows him to pitch without counting towards a team’s 13-pitcher limit. As the 14th pitcher, the Dodgers have the luxury of bringing Ohtani back before he is fully prepared as a traditional starter. In other words, they can initially have Ohtani make two-to-three-inning starts and have another pitcher lined up behind him to serve as a relief starter.

“It certainly doesn’t have to be a full preparation,” Roberts said, “because anything it can give us is certainly additional.”
Dave Roberts

Roberts added that Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Ohtani’s second ulnar collateral ligament repair in September 2023, and the Dodgers’ athletic training staff will continue to set the pace for his recovery. The team will continue to adjust accordingly, as it did by delaying Ohtani’s latest session by a day because he hit a ball on his foot in St. Louis on Sunday. An additional factor is the situation of the Dodgers’ pitchers. Fourteen of them are currently on the injured list, including four starters who were expected to be very important in 2025: Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and, more recently, Tony Gonsolin. Snell and Glasnow threw a bullpen session on Tuesday, but both still need to recover.

“It’s tempting,” Roberts said about bringing Ohtani back to the rotation earlier. “I’m sure Shohei is tempted to just rip the Band-Aid off for a Major League game. But I think we’ve done a good job of being patient. And, to be honest, I don’t know if anyone knows the right time for him to play in a Major League game. But we’re still being very careful.”
Dave Roberts

Ohtani began his progression as a pitcher last year, while becoming the first full-time designated hitter to win an MVP, and then basically stopped for the postseason. The Dodgers’ hopes that Ohtani would restart his pitching progression relatively early in the winter were dashed when he tore a labrum in his left shoulder during Game 2 of the World Series, requiring offseason surgery. Spring training essentially qualified as Ohtani’s offseason throwing program. It then stopped before the March 18 opening game in Japan and resumed when the Dodgers returned to the United States. Ohtani faced batters for the first time at Citi Field on May 25, throwing 22 pitches. Six days later, he threw 29. Ten days after that, he increased his production to 44. Ohtani struck out six batters, walked one, and allowed a ground ball up the middle that likely would have been a single while facing a pair of Dodgers minor leaguers. Ohtani, 30, also went through specific game elements like pitching from the stretch, incorporating a slide step, and using the pitch clock. Roberts said his fastball “had life” and his sweeper was “really good”. Ohtani will continue to participate in simulated games every week or so, with a light bullpen session in between, until the Dodgers determine he is ready to join their rotation.