Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicates Shohei Ohtani could start pitching again in May
Los Angeles Dodgers fans wanting to see Shohei Ohtani show off the other half of his game will likely have to wait at least a month into the season.
Speaking at the team's FanFest, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that the reigning NL MVP will make his return as a pitcher in May, responding "sounds about right" when asked about Ohtani pitching that month, per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.
Roberts reportedly declined to provide a specific date, but he said Ohtani's rehab is going "pretty smooth," and the team will know more once he starts throwing bullpens.
Ohtani underwent a brace surgery on his torn UCL at the end of the 2023 season and spent the entire 2024 season as a full-time DH. He was initially expected to be ready to pitch by Opening Day 2025, but that timeline was complicated when he tore the labrum in his non-pitching shoulder in Game 2 of the World Series. That injury required another surgery.
Also complicating Ohtani's return is the fact that the Dodgers don't want to lose his bat for any significant amount of time. General manager Brandon Gomes said earlier this week that Ohtani will go straight from live batting practices to the rotation, via Athlon Sports:
"He can't just go out on a rehab assignment," Gomes said. "We would lose our DH."
Ohtani holds a career 3.01 ERA as an MLB pitcher but has struggled to stay healthy on that side of the ball. He has thrown more than 135 innings in a season only once, in 2022, and has undergone two major UCL surgeries since coming to the U.S.
The Dodgers don't need Ohtani to pitch for him to be valuable, though, as evidenced by both the first 50-homer, 50-stolen-base season in MLB history and the team's considerable advertising windfall since signing him.
What will the Dodgers' Opening Day rotation look like without Shohei Ohtani?
When the Dodgers signed Roki Sasaki, the move provided them with one of the most high-upside rotations in MLB history. In no particular order, they have:
Shohei Ohtani
Blake Snell
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Tyler Glasnow
Roki Sasaki
All five of those pitchers could deliver ace-level seasons if they play up to their potential. Complicating matters, however, is their collective injury history, as none of those guys stayed healthy for all of 2024. The team has also indicated that it will use a six-man rotation, necessitating another pitcher to be determined.
Now, with Ohtani definitely not ready to pitch by Opening Day, the Dodgers have two rotation slots to fill beyond Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow and Sasaki. They don't lack for options, however.
Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May are both effective starting pitchers who missed all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery and could be ready to rejoin the team's rotation. Gonsolin is probably the better bet, given that May has yet to throw more than 56 innings in a season and might profile more as a reliever at this point in his career.
Beyond those two, Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, Nick Frasso, Justin Wrobleski and Ben Casparius are all on the 40-man roster and could be options depending on how spring training goes.
Clayton Kershaw, who made very clear that he intends to re-sign with the team at its World Series parade, will likely do so after spring training begins and 40-man roster spots open up via the 60-day injured list, though he's another pitcher who probably won't be ready for Opening Day due to offseason surgery.
