The Dodgers are pumping the breaks on prized two-way star Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound.
After undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2023, Ohtani still apparently isn’t ready to jump back into intense bullpen sessions this spring.
“We just felt that to intensify the bullpens alongside of the intensity of the games (as designated hitter) wasn’t smart,” manager Dave Roberts said, according to the Orange County Reigster.
“So, we just wanted to kind of slow-play it.”
Roberts had previously said Ohtani would return to pitching full time in May, and this latest update may threaten that target date, although it is unclear whether this is considered a setback.
Ohtani threw off the mound on Feb. 25 and hasn’t taken the bump since.
“I just feel, and we all feel, just trying to make it a broad time to return,” Roberts continued.
He added that he’s not trying to set “any kind of expectation” for Ohtani’s return to pitching.
Ohtani has not yet thrown a pitch for the Dodgers, having last taken the mound as a member of the Angels before departing for the in-state rivals that offseason.
Ohtani was a Cy Young contender in 2022 when he pitched to a 2.33 ERA ad 219 strikeouts in 166 innings.
He finished fourth in Cy Young voting that year.
The Dodgers arguably don’t even need him to pitch, considering their rotation has more talent than just about any team in the Major Leagues.
They currently have a rotation littered with stars, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin and Clayton Kershaw.
That rotation has a combined five Cy Young awards, by far the most in the MLB this year.