Image credit: ClutchPoints

What Dodgers ‘need’ from Shohei Ohtani, per Max Muncy

Originally posted on MLB on ClutchPoints
By Zachary Weinberger | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 2:06 PM ET

As Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani nears his pitching return, some continue to have concerns regarding his health, especially if he will be doing double duty in hitting and pitching. With some thinking, Ohtani will return to the Dodgers’ pitching rotation before the All-Star break, teammate Max Muncy has one need for the 30-year-old sensation.

Some will point to Los Angeles and their pitching rotation and how it could have some issues regarding health, which means Ohtani is desperately needed. Muncy would say that the team desires him to be “healthy” above anything else, though it would no doubt help if he pitched as well, according to ESPN.

“We need him to be healthy,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “They’re moving slow, and we’re all happy about that. We obviously want him to be pitching, but we want him to be healthy first and foremost. When you’re doing what he’s doing, it’s so unprecedented that I don’t know if there is a proper timeline. He might be moving faster than what he should be moving right now; we don’t really know that because it’s just never really been done before.”

The Dodgers’ plan with Shohei Ohtani returning to pitching

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) hits into a fielder’s choice during the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

While the Dodgers’ star in Ohtani has been taking steps to get on the mound, it has been a while since he started a game pitching, with the last being on August 23, 2023. Los Angeles’s president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, would speak on how one of the main goals isn’t to rush the process with a crucial player like Ohtani.

“Viewing it on a shorter-term horizon, it’s easy to want to be aggressive and push — I think both from him and from us,” Friedman said. “But we set out to view this as putting him in the best position to pitch over the next nine years and prioritizing longevity, and this first year back, it’s really important for that long-term aspect to not be too aggressive right now.”

“I can’t imagine how tiring it is to do both,” Friedman continued. “It’s one thing when you’re in that rhythm of it and you are in shape for that. But it’s been a while since he did both, and this is pretty uncharted because we’ve never been around a guy that does both at this level. And so it’s just trying to do everything we can to build up the muscles in the right arm, but also build up the endurance from a body standpoint of doing both and not fatiguing him in a way that makes his offense suffer.”

At any rate, it remains to be seen when Ohtani will start again, but the Dodgers are currently 41-28, which puts them first in the NL West as they start a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night.

This article first appeared on MLB on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: