Dodgers GM reveals plans for Shohei Ohtani in the upcoming season

Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers stacked their rotation this offseason to deal with potential injuries, which had plagued them in the second half of their title-winning run in 2024. They are likely to start with a six-man rotation, but their biggest name, Ohtani, is unlikely to feature from the start.

In August 2023, Ohtani had torn a ligament in his right elbow, his pitching arm, while he was with the Los Angeles Angels. He was ruled out of pitching for the entirety of the 2024 season.

Despite his two-way prowess, he continued to DH for the Dodgers. The team is finally looking to chart a plan for his return to the mound, which was jolted a bit when Ohtani suffered an injury to his right arm during the World Series against the New York Yankees.

On the New York Post podcast The Show, LA general manager Brandon Gomes said that because of his two-way process Shohei Ohtani cannot go through a normal rehab process for a pitcher having gone through Tommy John surgery. Ohtani will be eased into it once the season begins.

"We can't risk losing this guy from our lineup, so that was a give and take. There's a little bit of making sure we hit these boxes on the front end here and we'll build him up. Then, when he's ready to go and he's gone through his live BP sessions, he can kind of plug back into the rotation. But a lot of that is figuring it out along the way because of the unique nature of it — he can't just go out on a rehab assignment. We'd lose our DH, who happens to be a pretty good hitter.

"So, we'll see how these things continue to progress. We have a decent idea, but we haven't done this as an organization before. We'll take his feedback and make sure it fits all together, making sure that he's as healthy as possible in the batter's box and also on the mound through the stretch run of the regular season and into October," Gomes said. [27:10]

---

MLB verteran Barry Bonds makes feelings known about Shohei Ohtani pitching

Former San Fransisco Giants legend Barry Bonds had some advice for Shohei Ohtani while discussing his two-way prowess during New York Baseball Writers' Dinner.

As per Bonds, who was a DH himself, he advised Shohei Ohtani to stick to his batting because, in his opinion, getting on the mound will be extra workload for the generational player.

“I think he needs to stay at DH and do what he does best. (Pitching) is going to tire him out. It’s just too much on him. I think what he does and what he brings to that team right now, why change something that’s going great?,” Bonds said.

It's unlikely that the Dodgers won't utilize Shohei Ohtani's two-way abilities after signing him to a 10-year, $700 million, deal. While there's no date set for his pitching yet, all the chatter only hypes up his pitching return.