Dodgers Manager 'Trying to Be Patient' With Shohei Ohtani's Pitching Progression

The Los Angeles Dodgers are patiently waiting for Shohei Ohtani to take the mound for the first time in a Dodgers uniform.

It's hard to express too much anxiety, especially with the kind of season Ohtani had in 2024 and is on his way to again in 2025, but with pitching injuries starting to pile for this Dodgers team, fans can't help but wonder when the greatest baseball player on the planet will return to pitching.

Manager Dave Roberts spoke on watching Ohtani's most recent bullpen session on Saturday, that took place ahead of their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I thought he threw the baseball well,” said Roberts. “I still don’t know what the next progression is, but as of today, today was a good day for Shohei.”

The Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett noted that Ohtani threw the same amount of pitches as usual during his weekly 35-pitch bullpens, but this time split them between 20 and 15, over two simulated innings with a brief break in between the 'innings.'

Plunkett reported that although a slider has still not yet been added to Ohtani's repertoire, Roberts said he can already picture Ohtani back on the mound, given some of his pitches touching 95 mph.

“I’m trying to temper it, because I know that we’re being very methodical with this – clearly,” Roberts said. “But yeah, when you see the arm and see what he can do, you sort of – I put my head in the place of how he can help us right now. But (I’m) trying to be patient.”

Ohtani's experience pitching in MLB includes a 3.01 ERA over 481.1 innings pitched with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.51 over those five seasons (although the 2020 season only included 1.2 innings pitched).

The longer term plan for L.A. is to have Ohtani be at full pitching strength for October. Last season's struggles on the pitching roster are once again presenting themselves at this early stage of the season, but health for another deep postseason run is paramount for not just Ohtani, but the rest of the pitchers.