The Los Angeles Dodgers sidelined Shohei Ohtani from pitching during earlier spring training. When the Dodgers traveled to Tokyo to play the Chicago Cubs, Ohtani did not pitch in front of his hometown crowd.
A lot of people are asking when Ohtani will pitch in a game next. He last pitched for the Los Angeles Angels during the 2023 MLB season and was shut down when he required Tommy John surgery. Throughout the 2024 season with the Dodgers, he was used only as the designated hitter.
But there is a strong likelihood that Ohtani will be hitting and pitching during the 2025 MLB season.
Plan for Shohei Ohtani To Pitch Off Mound
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts thought before spring training that Ohtani would be ready to pitch by May. However, Ohtani has not completed any bullpen sessions since Feb. 25. With the Dodgers back from Tokyo, they are expected to ramp up Ohtani’s pitching activity as they prepare for their home opener on March 27 against the Detroit Tigers.
Ohtani will subsequently be facing hitters in a simulated-game setting. Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said about Ohtani ramping up progress over the next couple of weeks, “But we’ll just see kind of where we’re at after the next 10 days, two weeks.”
The Dodgers are expected to go with a five-man rotation until Ohtani comes back to the mound. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and Dustin May will be Los Angeles’ starters to start the 2025 season. Aside from Ohtani not yet being ready as a pitcher, Bobby Miller and Tony Gonsolin are also out to start the season, following what has been a recent bad trend for the team.
Still, Los Angeles will have sufficient depth until Ohtani is able to return to pitching in actual games. If the Dodgers are able to get the star player back on the mound by May, they’ll still have plenty of time to gain from the pitching skills of Ohtani.
It would be exciting to MLB fans to have him on the mound. When he pitched for the Angels in 2023, he made 23 appearances. Ohtani had a 10-5 mark, 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and a 167:55 K:BB in 132.0 innings.
There is a possibility he can put up similar pitching stats this year, as his special abilities provide an opportunity for him to be one of the best arms in the Dodgers’ rotation.
