Dodgers Pleased With Handling Of Shohei Ohtani’s Return To Pitching

The Los Angeles Dodgers have shown creativity in their approach to Shohei Ohtani's return from Tommy John surgery, especially since there was no blueprint to follow.

The typical rehab plan for a starting pitcher recovering from major arm surgery is to start slowly once cleared to begin pitching in games. The rehab plan usually consists of five or six starts in the minor leagues before being activated from the injured list and joining the active roster.

Yet Ohtani is not just one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball when he is healthy. He is also one of the game's best hitters.

Dodgers Had To Keep Ohtani In Lineup

Evidence of that came last season when Ohtani won the National League MVP despite being limited to being a designated hitter while his elbow healed in the first year of a 10-year, $700-million contract. He was injured and underwent surgery in September 2023 while still playing for the Los Angeles Angels.

So, there was no way the Dodgers could send Ohtani to the minor leagues this year for rehab starts and take his potent bat out of the lineup. Ohtani is the favorite to repeat as NL MVP with his .281/.395/.608 slash line, 49 home runs, and 19 stolen bases for the National League West-leading Dodgers, who are two games ahead of the San Diego Padres in the division race with 12 games to play.

To say the Dodgers have made it up as they go along this season with Ohtani as a pitcher wouldn't be fair. However, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Brandon Gomes, and manager Dave Roberts have had to be creative with how they have deployed Ohtani on the mound.

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Shohei Ohtani Gets 11 Days Off From Pitching

Ohtani will make his 13th start on Tuesday night against the NL East-champion Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani will be pitching on 11 days of rest as the Dodgers have given him an extended break in anticipation of the final two weeks of the regular season and the postseason.

Ohtani has a 1-1 record and 3.75 ERA. He has allowed 35 hits in 36 innings with 49 strikeouts and eight walks.

The Dodgers have not used Ohtani for more than five innings or 87 pitches. He has had at least five days of rest between starts and six or more in 10 of his 12 outings.

Ohtani, who made his season pitching debut on June 16, has seen his workload gradually increase. The first two outings lasted only one inning.

"I'm very happy with the way it's worked out and where Shohei is right now physically and mentally," Roberts said. "It's a unique situation, obviously, because we needed him back in the lineup. I think it's taken players to be nimble and starting pitchers to be flexible to make this work, and they've done that. I think with that, the starting pitching has flourished and has really been a strong part of our ballclub in the second half of the season, and I think it's served Shohei well, too."

The Dodgers have used 16 different starting pitchers this season because of injuries. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been the only one to stay healthy all season and is 11-8 with a 2.68 ERA in 28 starts.

Dodgers Rotation Is Formidable With Ohtani

To keep Ohtani healthy, the Dodgers are using a six-man rotation, and it is formidable. Joining Yamamoto and Ohtani are left-handers Blake Snell and Clayton Kershaw, and right-handers Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan.

Kershaw has won three Cy Young Awards, and Snell has two on his resume. Glasnow's season ERA is 3.06 through 16 starts, and Sheehan's is 3.17 in 13 games.

"It's fun right now," Snell said. “We run a guy out there every night who has no-hit stuff.”

The Dodgers won their second World Series in five years last fall despite having just three healthy starters in the postseason – Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty, and Walker Buehler. Roberts did a masterful job of handling his bullpen to make up for the depleted rotation.

Last year represented the first time Ohtani had played in the postseason during his seven-year career. While the Dodgers hope Ohtani can pitch significant innings in October, they are also looking to get more from him offensively in the postseason.

Ohtani hit .230/.373/.393 with three home runs in 16 playoff games and went just 2 for 19 (.105) in the Dodgers' five-game win over the New York Yankees in the World Series. Roberts, though, likes Ohtani's plate approach in the final stage of the regular season.

"Last year, I think there were times where he was sort of even manic, swinging the bat, trying to get hits, chase hits, when guys were clearly trying to pitch around him," Roberts said. "Where I think now, in this kind of moment in time, where it's a playoff race, a pennant race for us, I think that he is locked in his plate discipline. And that's how a superstar manages the postseason, the pitching."