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Will Shohei Ohtani Make the Dodgers’ Playoff Rotation?

Originally posted on Just Baseball | By Ryan Murphy | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 11:40 AM ET

It has been an up-and-down season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After jetting out to a 53-32 start to the season, the Dodgers have since gone 26-32 since July 1st. Their offense has been largely absent, ranking 20th in MLB with a 98 wRC+ since the start of July.

Pitching has also been a mixed bag for the Dodgers this year. The rotation has mostly healed up and dialed in their performance over time. However, the bullpen has been outright disastrous at times throughout the year.

The most recent unfortunate case came in Baltimore on Saturday, September 6th. After Yoshinobu Yamamoto came within one out of a no-hitter, the bullpen managed to blow a three-run lead. The Baltimore Orioles walked off the Dodgers, 4-3.

Things have been pretty bleak as of late for the Dodgers. Despite this, they have had one consistent bright spot throughout this season.

Shohei Ohtani is still really, really good at baseball.

Shocking, I know.

After being named National League MVP and achieving the first 50/50 season in MLB history this past year, Ohtani has continued to dominate in 2025. This year is also significant as it marks Ohtani’s long-awaited return to the mound.

The results have been very promising thus far. He continues to build up his workload, and with the postseason now in sight could very well factor into the Dodgers’ playoff rotation.

There were concerns at points throughout this season as to who would be available to start in October. However, the rotation has largely filled out as players have returned from injury.

Because of this, the Dodgers will have some tough decisions to make in the near future. With the way Shohei has looked so far, he makes for a very interesting option as a postseason starter (or reliever) for the Dodgers.

All stats compiled before play on September 8, 2025

Back to Business

Since Ohtani’s elbow injury in August of 2023, the baseball world has anxiously waited to see whether he would be able to make his way back to two-way status.

Ohtani had been excellent as a pitcher from 2021-2023, pitching to a combined 2.84 ERA over 74 starts. In these 428.1 innings, Ohtani struck out 542 batters while issuing just 143 walks.

Coming into 2025, it was unclear what to expect of Ohtani as a pitcher. Given the volatility of players coming back from major arm injuries, it was reasonable to expect a rough return for Ohtani.

This worry became especially clear once it became clear Ohtani would not take rehab assignments to pitch. Instead, he built up his workload starting in major league games.

However, Ohtani has largely defied any negative expectations on the mound. Through 12 starts and 36 innings, Ohtani has managed a 3.75 ERA while averaging 12.25 K/9, 2.00 BB/9, and 0.75 HR/9.

Ohtani’s 3.75 ERA is somewhat misleading as well, as his 2.17 FIP provides far more support for his performance thus far. Among all starting pitchers with 30 innings pitched or more this year, his 2.17 FIP ranks first in MLB.

New and Improved

A few factors have contributed to Ohtani’s success. For one, his velocity has ticked up for every one of his offerings. While his average fastball registered at 96.8mph in 2023, he has averaged 98.3mph this year, regularly grabbing triple-digits.

As for his other offerings, Ohtani has mostly maintained induced movement alongside the added velocity. In particular, his splitter has added a significant amount of horizontal break in a limited sample.

He has also added a wind-up to his delivery and tweaked his pitch usage. Ohtani’s arsenal mainly revolved around his sweeper and fastball in 2023. This year, Ohtani has upped his fastball usage while better incorporating the rest of his pitch mix.

Ohtani has increased his slider usage to accompany his signature sweeper, throwing it at harder speeds with depth. This pitch has mostly replaced his cutter as his tertiary offering, with the cutter now hovering around 7% usage.

He has dramatically increased his curveball usage recently, and the pitch has still not resulted in a hit this year. With a 58.3% whiff rate, the curveball has surprisingly been his best swing-and-miss pitch.

For the most part, Ohtani’s sinker and cutter have been hit around. That said, the rest of his offerings look solid, and should continue to progress as Ohtani fully returns to form.

The Case for October

As it stands, the rotation currently features Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Emmet Sheehan, and Ohtani. Given the rotation typically downsizes in the playoffs, a few of these players will likely move to the bullpen.

Given how injuries have trended for the Dodgers this year, there is no guarantee this ends up being the case. Regardless, Ohtani is well-suited to do both things.

Among starters, Yamamoto will likely serve as the Dodgers’ ace with Snell and Glasnow following close behind. The biggest argument stands between Kershaw and Ohtani, with Sheehan probably heading to the bullpen.

The strategy that makes the most sense is to have Kershaw piggyback off of a start from Ohtani. This would allow both Ohtani and Kershaw to take meaningful innings, and take some of the pressure off of their bullpen.

However, the Dodgers could get creative and do both. It would certainly be a departure from the norm for Ohtani, but would not be the first time he’s pitched in relief professionally.

Ohtani closed out the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Team Japan, striking out Team USA’s Mike Trout to seal the victory. Both manager Dave Roberts and pitching coach Mark Prior have indicated they’ve considered the idea for October as well.

Pitching in relief would also allow Ohtani to empty the tank with each pitching appearance, not having to worry as much about his pitch count. While Ohtani is definitely more likely to serve as a starter, it is an intriguing possibility.

One Way or Another

As a reliever, Ohtani would likely be reserved for the final outs of games.

While MLB amended its rules to allow Ohtani to remain in the lineup after being taken out as a starter, the same rule does not apply to relievers. As a result, he would be taken out of the game entirely if removed from a relief appearance.

Regardless, having Ohtani as an option to come in and close out games in a pinch provides the Dodgers with much-needed versatility in the later innings. Assuming the Dodgers make the postseason, Ohtani will most definitely factor into their pitching plans.

Most likely, Ohtani will make shorter starts in the playoffs, with one of either Kershaw or Sheehan taking the ball after him. Either way, we’re likely to see Ohtani pitch meaningful innings in the playoffs.

First, the Dodgers will need to focus on making the postseason as it is. While they still hold the lead in the NL West, the Padres and Giants are trailing close behind. Look for Ohtani to help the Dodgers return to the World Series from both the mound and the batter’s box.

This article first appeared on Just Baseball and was syndicated with permission.

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