The leisurely pace at which he is building up his arm points to a lack of urgency, but don’t be deceived. His team’s place in the standings indicates his return to the mound is more of a luxury than a necessity, but don’t be lured into a false sense of security.
The Dodgers need Shohei Ohtani to pitch this season, and they need him to pitch well.
Even after an offseason in which they added Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers are back to where they were last year. Their rotation is unraveling.
Snell is on the injured list alongside Tyler Glasnow, and the 23-year-old Sasaki has looked like a 23-year-old rookie.
Ohtani pitching was viewed almost as a bonus for the defending World Series champions at the start of the season, but it could now be a requirement for them to defend their title.
Consider who is lined up to start for the Dodgers over the next four days in a critical series against the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field: Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Thursday, Sasaki on Friday, Dustin May on Saturday, followed by a potential bullpen game on Sunday.
If the playoffs started next week, that very well could be their rotation, and who on that list inspires any sort of confidence outside of Yamamoto?
Plenty can happen between now and October, of course. Clayton Kershaw will be eligible to be activated from the 60-day injured list on the team’s upcoming homestand. Snell and Glasnow figure to return in about a month.
Then again, Kershaw barely pitched last season and is now 37. Snell and Glasnow are sidelined with shoulder issues, which is unsettling. Yamamoto missed three months with his own shoulder problems last season and questions remain about his durability.
The Dodgers have three frontline-caliber pitchers in Yamamoto, Snell and Glasnow, and four if they count Ohtani. But they have to brace themselves for the possibility that one or two of them might be unavailable in October, as was the case last year when Glasnow was injured.
This could explain why the Dodgers are taking their time with Ohtani, who isn’t expected to pitch until after the All-Star break, according to a person familiar with the team’s thinking but not authorized to speak publicly.
Mindful of Ohtani’s long-term health, the team has taken a methodical approach with the two-way player, limiting him to a light bullpen session in the middle of the week and a regular one on Saturdays. Ohtani still isn’t throwing any sliders at the advice of the medical staff, manager Dave Roberts told reporters last week.
“Just the strain on the elbow,” Roberts said. “I think that’s the thought.”
Ohtani is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery that he underwent late in the 2023 season and Roberts said last month that he didn’t have any problems with the deliberate pace of his recovery.
“I think he understands that the goal is to make sure he’s firing on all cylinders toward the end of the season and into October,” Roberts said.
The anticipated timeline, however, will limit the opportunities Ohtani has to rediscover himself on the mound.
Walker Buehler was in a similar situation last year. Before Buehler became a World Series hero, he spent the regular season getting his teeth kicked in, posting a 5.38 earned-run average in 16 starts. He made the playoff rotation because the Dodgers didn’t have any other options.
Ohtani will have a little more than two months for such trial and error, and even less if the National League West remains competitive. Right now, the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants are right there with the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks are within striking distance. The Dodgers might need Ohtani to deliver from them on the mound before October.
Earlier this year, home run king Barry Bonds said he thought Ohtani should focus more on hitting by pitching as a reliever instead of a starter. An argument could be made that Bonds’ thoughts make sense — for Ohtani. They wouldn’t make sense for the Dodgers, who desperately need him to pitch. Their roster requires it.
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