When will Shohei Ohtani pitch? Dodgers manager says May 'sounds about right'

The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers bolstered their rotation in a big way this winter, signing two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki – but Shohei Ohtani's return to the mound is still up in the air.

Ohtani, who signed a $700 million contract with the Dodgers in the 2023-24 offseason, didn't pitch in his first year with the club after having elbow surgery in September 2023. But he became the first player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs with 50 stolen bases, winning his third career MVP award.

When and if Ohtani joins the Dodgers rotation in 2025 has been a big question as spring training gets set to begin. During the Dodgers' fan festival on Saturday, the 30-year-old Japanese star couldn't offer specifics on when he might make his first big-league pitching appearance since August 2023.

"Hard to pinpoint when. Generally looking at a couple of weeks to a month of leeway," Ohtani said. "It will depend on how my first bullpen session will go."

Meanwhile, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it "sounds about right" that Ohtani could return to pitching in May.

Ohtani had surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder after suffering a dislocation during Game 2 of the Dodgers' World Series triumph over the Yankees.

He began throwing off a mound last August and while the team was intentionally vague leading up to October, the Dodgers didn't end up rushing him back in the postseason.

Ohtani had a 3.01 ERA in 86 starts across six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels from 2018-2023, racking up 608 strikeouts in 481 ⅔ innings.

Los Angeles is set to deploy a six-man rotation and if all goes according to plan, the Dodgers could begin the season with Snell, Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May making up the staff.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When will Shohei Ohtani pitch? Dodgers manager suggests May