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Dodgers Provide Massive Shohei Ohtani Injury Update Before Loss Saturday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Apr 13, 2025 7:35 AM ET

Los Angeles Dodgers fans are coming closer to finally seeing two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani do more than just hit home runs.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offered perhaps Saturday’s only good news before a 16-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Ohtani, a former Cy Young finalist with the Los Angeles Angels, threw roughly 30 pitches on Saturday afternoon.

Ohtani is recovering from 2023 Tommy John surgery. Offseason left shoulder surgery impacted his offseason conditioning program, pushing back his long-awaited pitching return.

Roberts told reporters that Ohtani’s velocity reached as high as 92 mph.

“I think that they want to keep him right around 90 miles an hour,” Roberts said, according to the Dodgers’ official website. “He was right where they needed him to be.”

Ohtani’s 30 pitches on Saturday are up from 20 and 26 from March 29 and April 5, respectively.

“I think it’s just going to continue to build up, build on that,” Roberts said. “And we’ll see where he goes from there.”

The Dodgers still have not announced an expected timetable for Ohtani’s pitching debut. Although the team initially hoped he’d take the mound in May, those plans changed when the three-time MVP began focusing solely on hitting late in spring training.

Ohtani went 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 15 bWAR over 86 starts for the Angels from 2018-23.

It’s been a slow start, relatively speaking, for the sport’s top player. Although Ohtani entered play Sunday hitting .295 with four home runs and a .944 OPS, he’s only notched a single double and five RBI.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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