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The Los Angeles Dodgers will open the 2025 season in Japan, but don't expect Shohei Ohtani to pitch while the team begins its title defense. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed on Monday that it is “very unlikely” that Ohtani will be ready to pitch when LA starts the season against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo.
Roberts added that the team will be “nimble” with how it approaches Ohtani as a pitcher while he ramps back up following his 2023 elbow surgery and November 2024 shoulder surgery. The team is confident he will be available as a hitter to start the season.
Ohtani has yet to pitch for the Dodgers since signing a mammoth 10-year, $700 million contract last offseason.
Fans shouldn't take Roberts' admission as a sign that anything is wrong. Ohtani himself told USA Today's Bob Nightengale last week that his rehab was going smoothly.
“So far, so good. Everything is going well,” he said.
Nightengale added that the Dodgers are still “optimistic he'll be pitching again in April.”
“We’re just [keeping the] big picture in mind and making sure that, working backwards, [we're doing] what puts us in the best position for him to be taking down innings in October,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said when Ohtani first had his surgery. “And however that falls out, we’ll be happy with.”
Even as a full-time DH last season, Ohtani was able to win his second straight MVP award and third in four seasons. He accumulated 9.2 bWAR while hitting 54 home runs and driving home 130 RBI. His 59 stolen bases made him the first 50-50 player in baseball history.
Most importantly for the Dodgers, Ohtani's monster season culminated in their second World Series championship in five seasons.
When Ohtani has pitched, he's been superb. In 86 MLB starts for the Los Angeles Angels since coming over from Japan in 2018, Ohtani has a 3.01 career ERA and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
