As it stands, Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is in good position to win the National League’s MVP award. He leads all hitters with 47 home runs and, with 48 steals to his credit, could very well become the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. He is also batting .290 with a league-best .985 OPS, further bolstering his case.
The $70 million per year that the Dodgers are paying him has mostly been worth it, not just for the production he brings to the plate but also for the attention and wow-factor he adds every time the team takes the field.
And this is only half of what Ohtani figures to do for the Dodgers. It is almost easy to forget that, in addition to all the production with the bat, Ohtani also will be—eventually—one of the better pitchers on the Dodgers staff.
In six years with the Angels before moving to the Dodgers, Ohtani was 38-19 on the mound, with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts in 481 innings pitched. But he hurt his elbow late last season, and required Tommy John surgery to fix the problem. Once the elbow is healed up, the Dodgers will see the return of Ohtani as a two-way threat.
According to manager Dave Roberts, that could happen sooner rather than later.
Dodgers Will ‘Leave Some Margin’ for a Mound Return
Speaking on Sirius XM radio this week, Roberts addressed the possibility that we could see Ohtani back on the mound in the playoffs for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers’ can’t count on having Ohtani on the mound, and certainly they would not want to use the postseason as a grounds for some kind of rehab outing. But if they need a couple of innings, perhaps in relief?
Here’s what Roberts said about the situation, via a Twitter/X post from the MLB Network:
“I just think like anything, I think that you should always leave some margin, a crack in the door, for any possibility. If things line up, and there’s a need, and the game, his body, everything’s telling us that it makes sense, in that situation, great. And it would be storybook.
“But I think that to kind of count on that, bet on that, I think that’s not a fair, kind of, way to go about it. But Shohei’s on board with just continuing his rehab process, and I wouldn’t put it past him to have an eye on that, and we’ll just see how he plays out.”
Shohei Ohtani Was Progressing in Rehab
Again, the Dodgers should not count on Ohtani getting back to the mound. The typical recovery time is 12-18 months, and the Dodgers don’t want to put any undue stress on their top hitter by having him pitch, too. Also worth noting: This is Ohtani’s second Tommy John surgery, having also undergone one in 2018. The Dodgers really don’t want to mess with that arm until it is ready.
Over the course of the season, the Dodgers have not said much about Ohtani’s TJ rehab, but back in late May, he did address the fact that he was throwing 80 mph from just about normal pitching distances.
“Just progressively increasing the distance,” Ohtani said through an interpreter at the time, via ESPN. “Usually anywhere from 60-70 pitches, in that distance. Just continuing to increase the distance and the pitches, and just seeing where that goes. I’m not quite sure how far I’m going to go out there, but that’s the progression.”
