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Shohei Ohtani has made a name for himself as one of the most unique players in MLB history. An elite hitter and pitcher, Ohtani has earned three MVP awards and dominated on both sides of the ball.
All that being said, Shohei Ohtani has not pitched in the Majors since 2023 when he was still a member of the Los Angeles Angels. Since that time, Ohtani has not only signed a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he has also won the first World Series title of his career.
After undergoing UCL surgery that kept him off the mound for all of 2024, Ohtani has been slowly building himself back up in the hopes of pitching for the Dodgers at some point this year.
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MLB insider Jake Mintz believes that the Los Angeles Dodgers have the luxury to keep Ohtani off the mound until he is completely ready, given his importance to the team and their pitching depth.
"There's no need to rush it. If Shohei Ohtani was on the Baltimore Orioles right now, I think he would be back in the rotation in a number of weeks. The Dodgers, based upon how stacked this roster is and how many sufficient arms they have, don't need Shohei Ohtani to be in the rotation right now," Mintz explained on the latest episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast.
Throughout the offseason and Spring Training, Ohtani has been seen throwing off of the mound and building himself up ahead of his much-anticipated pitching debut for Los Angeles.
Despite putting in the work, the Dodgers decided to reduce the amount of work he was doing as a pitcher in order to focus on his preparation as a hitter. While he might pitch this year, it could still be some time before he does.
Even though the Dodgers might slow-play Shohei Ohtani's return, the team's rotation has already suffered a significant blow
The Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching depth has never been more on display than it has in recent weeks. Even though the club has had to place two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell on the 15-day IL with a shoulder injury, the team still has a number of capable arms.
Landon Knack and Dustin May have stepped up alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow. The team also has a potential X-factor on the roster in the shape of Roki Sasaki, who has struggled so far in his rookie season but has all of the tools to become a bona fide star.
