Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Reveals Timeline for Throwing Program Moving Forward

The Los Angeles Dodgers are awaiting the debut of Shohei Ohtani pitching in a Dodgers uniform.

The three-time MVP hasn't pitched in an MLB game since Aug. 23, 2023, but after throwing his first live batting practice since his UCL surgery, he opened up on what the road back to the mound will look like.

“I’m going to do live BPs once a week moving forward,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “On the road, I’m sure it’s going to be a little bit difficult to get quality hitters to stand in at times, but at home I should be able to get good minor-league hitters to stand in.”

Ahead of the series finale against the New York Mets on Sunday, Ohtani was throwing at Citi Field to Hyeseong Kim, Dalton Rushing, and the team's game planning coach J.T. Watkins.

As for the throwing itself, Ohtani revealed how great it felt to get back and feel like the two-way star that he has proven himself to be over the course of his illustrious career.

“Just really felt good overall, just looking at the overall execution,” Ohtani said. “It was a really good first step, and looking forward to the next one.

“I haven’t thrown (to hitters) in a while, so it was nice to be able to feel like I was a pitcher,” Ohtani said. “I just kind of remembered those days when I used to have a lot of good memories as a pitcher.”

Those good memories include a 3.01 ERA across 481.2 innings pitched in MLB, a career strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.51, and even finishing as high as fourth in Cy Young voting during his five MLB seasons pitching (with one season featuring just 1.2 total innings).

From 2013-17, Ohtani pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball, racking up a career ERA of 2.52 across 543 total innings.

All of that came together when Ohtani touched 97 mph on Sunday, something he later admitted to doing unintentionally.

“I am aware that I do throw a little harder when there is a hitter in the box,” Ohtani said. “I try to keep it 93-4, but I know I was touching 96 and 7s, which I wanted to not do. But it’s a good sign that I could hit that.”