Los Angeles Dodgers are unsure of their two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani’s return timeline on the mound in 2025. Following the latest shoulder surgery, he is not likely to start in the Opening Day against the Chicago Cubs in Japan.
While many anticipated Ohtani the pitcher’s return in 2025, they’ll have to wait for the Japanese star to recuperate from his recent injury. In the World Series Game 2, Shohei Ohtani injured his left shoulder following an awkward slide into base.
At that time, the team diagnosed it as a subluxation or partial shoulder dislocation. Despite that, he participated in Game 3 to Game 4, refusing to let go of the chance to play in the World Series.
However, he was seen feeling uneasy at times during batting following his Game 2 crash. Recently, Ohtani went through an arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was successful, and performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in LA.
“I don’t make any magic date for this. I don’t rush the pitching, I don’t rush the hitting. If he’s not back (pitching) until May 1st, I’m okay with it.”
– @StevePhillipsGM on Shohei Ohtani’s offseason recovery in preparation for a return to the mound pic.twitter.com/aOxqsaeFiE
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 7, 2024
While it may not directly affect his pitching arm, his return to the lineup remains questionable. The Los Angeles Dodgers are hoping to see Shohei Ohtani back on the roster after a full-body recovery to make 100% of his talents in the 2025 run.
GM Brandon Gomes was grateful that his pitching arm did not get further injured as it would’ve dealt a serious blow to his health. He further added that the team is not worried about his return as a pitcher, but being a two-way star might hurt him.
I think there’s a lot of questions there of making sure that he is in a good place. I don’t want to speculate on any of that. We’re just [keeping the] big picture in mind and making sure that, working backwards, [we’re doing] what puts us in the best position for him to be taking down innings in October. And however that falls out, we’ll be happy with.
Brandon Gomes as per Sonja Chen of mlb.com
Even baseball analyst Steve Phillips noted that there’s no “magic date for this” and he wants Shohei Ohtani to take all the time he needs to heal first. He said, “I don’t rush the pitching. I don’t rush the hitting,” as well being is the primary focus.
LA Dodgers not afraid to go deep in free agency pitching market
With Shohei Ohtani out of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for now, the team will look into pitching prospects in the free agency. Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki is a heavy favorite to sign with the team in his big league debut.
Apart from him, the team has Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, and a couple more young rookies. However, seeing how the Dodgers lineup suffered from injuries in 2024, Brandon Gomes will not be shy to add a couple more players, including pitchers for backup.
It’s highly unlikely now that Shohei Ohtani will be able to pitch in their 2-game series in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs in March after undergoing surgery for his torn labrum on his left shoulder, but the Dodgers still are optimistic he’ll be pitching again in April.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 6, 2024
The team is expected to bring out their six-man roster early in the season. They started the last season with 12 pitchers but believes “that wasn’t enough.” They’ll be further exploring the pitching market “for sure.”
