How will Shohei Ohtani’s return as two-way star affect Dodgers' 2025 World Series chances?

How will Shohei Ohtani’s return as two-way star affect Dodgers' 2025 World Series chances? - Source: Imagn

LA Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani's return to the mound has been one of the most anticipated events of the 2025 season after news emerged of the two-way star resuming pitching this year. Ohtani's two-way ability since making his MLB debut with the LA Angels in 2018 has made him one of the biggest, if not the biggest, stars in baseball.

The Dodgers weren't able to utilize his two-way talent last season, as Ohtani was recovering from an elbow surgery he underwent in 2023 before his $700 million move to the NL team. However, the reigning NL MVP is set to be a dual threat this year, as he is expected to resume pitching around May-June. But how will it affect the Dodgers' chances of defending their World Series title?

There has been speculation about Shohei Ohtani's pitching return potential impacting his offensive numbers due to the increased workload. While it is true that the Japanese superstar's workload will increase, Ohtani is no stranger to it.

In three full seasons as a two-way star with the Angels from 2021 to 2023, Ohtani had three consecutive 30+ home run seasons, two of them with 46 and 44 home runs. During the three years, Ohtani also started 20+ games from the mound in three consecutive seasons and was one of the finalists for the AL Cy Young Award in 2022 after posting a 15-9 record with a 2.33 ERA.

Ohtani finished fourth in the Cy Young voting and was second in the AL MVP voting behind New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge after the latter's historic 62-home run season.

His incredible numbers during those three years are a testament to his efficiency as a two-way star. Unless there is a drastic falloff this season, Shohei Ohtani is not only going to be an MVP contender for a fifth consecutive season but also be a weapon from the mound, significantly increasing the Dodgers' chances of winning the World Series.

Shohei Ohtani resumes bullpen sessions, resumes throwing splitters

While Shohei Ohtani will return to pitching this season, the Dodgers are not taking any risk of bringing back the reigning NL MVP. Ohtani resumed his pitching workouts this month and said his bullpens are going well.

“I think the bullpens are going well,” Ohtani said. “I think I’m in a really good place feel-wise.”

According to reports, the Japanese star started throwing his splitter in his recent bullpens after only throwing fastballs in his previous sessions. The Dodgers are reportedly keeping him on a seven-day pitching program and will utilize the same when he joins the starting rotation later this year.

The Dodgers are expected to rely on a six-man rotation when Shohei Ohtani returns to the mound. Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Clayton Kershaw are likely going to be part of the rotation.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash