From the day they introduced Shohei Ohtani at Dodger Stadium last December, the Los Angeles Dodgers' executives and coaches have been targeting a 2025 return to the mound for their two-way star, publicly at least. So far this season, Ohtani has been limited to designated hitter duties.
Ohtani has thrived in the role, hitting .292 with 47 home runs, 48 stolen bases, and a National League-leading 104 RBIs out of the Dodgers' leadoff slot. He is on track to become the first player in major league history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in one season.
Throughout his historic season, Ohtani has been gradually ramping up his throwing program. Already this month, he's thrown multiple bullpen sessions.
Although that's a long way from facing major league hitters, Ohtani's pitching statistics in the Angels' rotation from 2018-23 — 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA — are impossible to ignore. In 2022, Ohtani finished fourth in the American League Cy Young Award voting.
Friday, for the first time, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn't completely rule out sending his $700 million star to the mound for the first time.
"I think that you should always leave some margin, a crack in the door for any possibility," Roberts said on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. "If things line up and there's a need and the game, his body, everything is telling us that it makes sense in that situation, great. And it would be storybook. But I think to kind of count on that, bet on that, I think that's an unfair way to go about it."
The Dodgers' pitching staff isn't exactly doing its part to quell the "storybook" scenario. Roberts was hoping to have veteran right-hander Tyler Glasnow and left-hander Clayton Kershaw healthy and ready to go by now, but both are on the injured list — Glasnow with elbow tendonitis, Kershaw with a bone spur in his foot. Neither pitcher is assured of being healthy in time to start in October.
Trade deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a $325 million free-agent contract last December, are healthy and productive. Beyond them, the question of who will pitch the bulk of the postseason innings for the Dodgers looks wide open.
Rookie Landon Knack (2-3, 3.00 ERA) is their third-best starter on merit, but he's spent most of the year at Triple-A and has never pitched in the postseason. Right-handers Bobby Miller (2-4, 8.17 ERA) and Walker Buehler (1-5, 5.95) have disappointed in a year defined by injuries and ineffectiveness.
Depending on the statuses of Kershaw and Glasnow, Roberts' choices for his October staff are looking more limited than he had hoped. The addition of hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech (3-0, four saves, 1.00 ERA) at the trade deadline strengthened an already stable bullpen. But the ability of Ohtani to pitch an inning or two is too tantalizing for Roberts to completely discount, and that's understandable.
"Shohei is on board to just continue his rehab process," Roberts said, "and I wouldn't put it past him to have an eye on (October) and we'll just see how it plays out."
More news: Legendary Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Blasts Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani
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J.P. Hoornstra writes and edits Major League Baseball content. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers ... Read more