Shohei Ohtani won his first World Series championship and his third MVP award in his first season with the Dodgers. Well, even with all these achievements, Ohtani was only playing at half his ability. Why? Because Ohtani has yet to pitch since he joined the Dodgers. Ohtani spent enough time under the knife in the last 2 years for his UCL and TJ surgery, which only made his recovery longer. Now that he is all set to hit the mound, when can the fans expect him to throw some fireballs?

Well, the Dodgers are not in a hurry to get Ohtani back on the mound. The last time Ohtani pitched was in 2023 for the Angels. That year, Ohtani scored 44 homers and 167 SOs as a pitcher. So, does it make sense for the Dodgers to lose out on the strikeout ability of Ohtani? As ridiculous as it sounds not to get their most expensive player back to his prime, it reflects the bench strength of the team.

MLB insider Jeff Passan shared his view about Ohtani’s unique situation: “Not to suggest they’re being flip about how they’re approaching it with him, I just think there’s no playbook.” This even made Foul Territory quip in their X post, reporting on Passan’s take, “The uniqueness of Shohei Ohtani’s situation might be causing the Dodgers to be “winging” his return to the mound.”

Ohtani’s two-way playing ability is one-of-its-kind with no proper rulebook available with the MLB. So, while the Dodgers already got Ohtani as a DH, it is their pitching lineup that offers flexibility in dealing with him. 

So yes, it does make sense, considering the big picture. One more shoulder injury would be career-threatening for Ohtani. So, why lose out on Ohtani’s hitting by rushing him to the mound? Especially more so when the Dodgers a formidable starting lineup to pitch already. 

The Dodgers starting rotation is formidable even without Ohtani

The Dodgers’ starting lineup for the opening day has been finalized by manager Dave Roberts. The pitching staff will be led by Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Blake Snell, in that order. Behind them will be Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw. Among these, Yamamoto and Sasaki are projected to have 150+ strikeouts this season. Snell is a 2x Cy Young Award winner. This demonstrates the Dodgers’ off-season emphasis on building a strong, well-balanced rotation as they headed into the season. What about Ohtani then?

“He’s going to throw a ‘pen on Saturday,” Roberts said. “Once he gets through the ‘pen on Saturday, we’ll have a better idea of what a plan looks like.” So, with Ohtani starting to hit the bullpen, it is anticipated that he will join the 5-man pitching lineup as the sixth one by May. Once that is done, the Dodgers’ pitching depth will be second to none. But what if Ohtani still cannot pitch?

The team is covered by Bobby Miller and Dustin May in the rotation. Enough reason to not hurry with Ohtani; he’ll be at the mound, when he’s ready, pitching as his body allows for it. While it may fall short of fans’ expectations, we sure wouldn’t want to compromise his bat now, would we?