Will Shohei Ohtani pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season? Yes, but when? That’s a question everyone has on their mind, but the team hasn’t given a definite answer until now.
There’s a certain beauty about two-way players. The fact that they can play both ways is itself an achievement, but Ohtani excels at both pitching and hitting, and that is why his two-way play excites fans. While everyone awaits his pitching debut, manager Dave Roberts has come up with an update.
Dave Roberts Gives Fans Hope About Shotime Return to the Mound
According to a recent post by
Fox Sports on X
, Ohtani is still a few months away from making his game debut. However, he is still anticipated to make appearances this season and in the postseason, according to Roberts.
Ohtani hasn’t pitched since August 2023, when he was with the Los Angeles Angels and tore his UCL. Roberts had earlier this year hinted that Ohtani would make a comeback by May, but updates in March and now April show that his pitching recovery may still take time.
Ohtani’s offensive output has more than justified his record-breaking deal, but the Dodgers are still waiting for him to return as a pitcher. Last season, Ohtani won his third AL MVP award. He helped Los Angeles win the World Series with outstanding at-bat stats, hitting a .310/.390/.646 slash line (batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage) with 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, and 59 stolen bases.
Ohtani has recorded six home runs, eight RBIs, five stolen bases, and a batting average of .288 through 20 games in 2025. He is on track to have another season with 40 home runs and 40 steals, which would be beneficial to the Dodgers, who are already 14-6 and in third place in the NL West.
The hope is that the Dodgers will undoubtedly find a place for Ohtani in the rotation even when Clayton Kershaw and Blake Snell both return from the injured list.
Snell, the starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was placed on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his shoulder. Kershaw, a 37-year-old left-hander who is trying to recover from offseason surgery on his knee and toe, pitched three scoreless innings for the Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A) on Wednesday, April 16, in his first rehab start.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner hasn’t thrown more than 132 innings in a season since 2019 due to several health concerns he’s faced recently. After having shoulder surgery, he didn’t start until July 25 of last year. In seven starts, he went just 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA before being shut down on Aug. 30.
