WASHINGTON, D.C. — Shohei Ohtani is still quite good despite only doing half his job right now. By the fifth inning of his Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-4 loss to the Washington Nationals for Ohtani, the leadoff man and designated hitter, legged out a triple to get within a double of a cycle. The reigning National League MVP has proven to be a force multiplier with his bat alone.
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His pitching remains to be determined. The Dodgers have not given a firm timeline on Ohtani’s eventual return to the mound. They have little incentive to — the right-hander, who is coming off a second major elbow ligament reconstruction, is valuable enough offensively. They have the starting pitching depth to make it through the season, even without Ohtani.
And in a scenario where Ohtani does return to pitching at an elite form, as he did from 2021 until his ulnar collateral ligament gave way a second time (a span where he ranked 10th in the majors among pitchers in FanGraphs WAR, with 10.9), the Dodgers would have all the more reason to have that version of Ohtani available in October rather than July.
So, they’re taking things slow.
“The Dodgers are consulting with the doctors just to make sure that, since this is my second operation, it’s really important to be conservative and be thoughtful,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton in his first comments centered around his pitching since he started ramping up his throwing program again last month.
Ohtani threw his most recent bullpen session on Saturday, throwing 26 fastballs and splitters at less than maximum intensity. He’ll throw a brief one this week before another, longer one, on Saturday. There was talk this spring that Ohtani could face hitters before the season started. Then he went a month without throwing a bullpen session, which the Dodgers said was planned so he could physically and logistically handle the final stages of his hitting ramp-up after offseason surgery on his left shoulder.
This buildup has worked well thus far, Ohtani said in his first time addressing his pitching since the Dodgers were in Tokyo last month. He has a 1.080 OPS and four home runs in his first 55 plate appearances this season.
SHOHEI OHTANI, GAME-TYING HOMER! pic.twitter.com/hu93qYUEZp
— MLB (@MLB) April 7, 2025
“I think once we head into live BP, it’ll be interesting to see how my body reacts,” Ohtani said.
It still doesn’t appear Ohtani is all that close to facing hitters, either.
“We’re still not there yet,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said over the weekend.
That, at the very least, will require Ohtani to throw at close to full intensity while incorporating the rest of his pitch mix. Before the Dodgers slowed down his throwing in spring training, he was throwing fastballs, sinkers and cutters in his bullpens.
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“I feel pretty good with where I’m at physically,” Ohtani said. “There’s some limitations on how hard I’m supposed to throw or how many types of pitches I’m allowed to throw. So once I’m pretty cleared out in terms of being able to do all the above, I feel pretty good about being able to throw a live BP.”
The Dodgers’ more immediate pitching concern remains two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, who went on the injured list on Sunday with a balky left shoulder that Snell admitted Monday had been bothering him for weeks. An MRI on Snell’s shoulder Sunday showed just inflammation.
Snell was dealing with “a good amount” of discomfort in the shoulder.
“Hopefully it’s a couple weeks and I’m back and I’m ready to go then,” Snell said.
Roberts said that Snell was set to meet with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who is already in Washington, D.C., with the team as part of the White House visit celebrating the 2024 title. Roberts did not rule out the possibility that Snell could require an injection to address the discomfort.
“I think everything’s in play,” Roberts said.
(Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)
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