Shohei Ohtani throws bullpen session, no timeline for pitching return

Shohei Ohtani threw all fastballs during a 20-pitch bullpen session prior to Saturday's game, marking the first time that the three-time MVP had thrown off a mound since Feb. 25. 

While Ohtani has continued to throw off flat ground in the interim, the month-plus break between proper pitching sessions added to the question of when exactly Ohtani might resume pitching duties in the big leagues, as a few weeks ago Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seemingly backed off the initial plan to have Ohtani pitching at some point in May.

Speaking with Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other reporters yesterday, Roberts was still non-committal, saying “it’s going to be awhile” before Ohtani makes his pitching debut in a Dodgers uniform.

“I think you start with the natural progression of a bullpen,” Roberts said. “You’ve got to kind of mix in different pitches to then face hitters again. It’s a start. I don’t have a timeline. I don’t think anyone does. We’re a ways away.”

It has now been more than 19 months since Ohtani last pitched in a Major League game, as he sustained a right UCL tear during a 1 1/3-inning start for the Angels on August 23, 2023. The subsequent surgery that September meant that he wouldn’t be pitching during the 2024 campaign, though the normal timeline for UCL surgeries indicated that Ohtani would be ready to go for Opening Day 2025. 

However, an unexpected roadblock emerged when Ohtani suffered a labrum tear in his non-throwing shoulder while trying to steal a base during the World Series, which led to an arthroscopic procedure on his left shoulder this past November. This injury wasn’t seen as too great an impediment to Ohtani’s return to pitching, and obviously not to his role as the Dodgers’ DH, as Ohtani has been able to hit normally this season.

If Ohtani was only a pitcher, in all likelihood he would be pitching in the majors right now, as he would’ve been able to proceed on a regular rehab timeline. But of course, nothing is normal when it comes to Ohtani and his unique status as a two-way superstar, as he and the Dodgers have balanced both his arm health along with his duties as a hitter. 

For instance, he limited some throwing sessions last fall since Ohtani was naturally more focused on trying to help Los Angeles win a championship, and then the added wrinkle of his left labrum issue impacted his usual offseason prep.

Roberts said the month-long break from mound sessions was done in part to get Ohtani fully ramped up as a hitter for his team’s earlier start to the 2025 season, as the Dodgers and Cubs played two games in Japan on March 18-19 before the rest of the league kicked off action three days ago. 

The manager also stressed again that “we still want him to pitch. He wants to pitch. I think he can handle it,” but also noted that the club has no reason or desire to rush Ohtani back to pitching.

“I think the question is how much do we need him right now and I think we’ve answered that,” Roberts said. “His health is paramount, most important. So whenever that time is and his buildup reaches its full maturation, he’ll pitch for us.”

L.A. has so many pitching options that the team is expected to move to a six-man rotation once some hurlers start returning from the injured list.  Beyond the starting five of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Dustin May, the Dodgers will have even more than just a single sixth-starter option given how Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Emmet Sheehan and Ohtani are all expected to be back at various points in the 2025 season. 

It is wholly unlikely that Los Angeles will have all nine rotation candidates healthy at once, but in the event of a slight pitching surplus, it’s a sign of the team’s depth that having Ohtani pitch is almost a luxury, on top of what he can contribute at the plate.