DALLAS − Shohei Ohtani, baseball’s only two-way player, likely won’t be ready to pitch by opening day in Japan after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder in November, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday at baseball’s winter meetings. But Roberts still expects him to be in their lineup as the designated hitter.
“Very unlikely,’’ Roberts said when asked if Ohtani could possibly pitch in Tokyo. “I just don’t see us starting the clock in March to then think that we would keep that continuously going through October. Then, that would call for a break or reprieve in the middle of the season, so I don’t know.
“I still think unlikely.’’
Still, the Dodgers are counting on him when the Dodgers open the season in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs on March 18-19 at the Tokyo Dome.
“I don’t think he’d have it any other way,’’ Roberts said. “That’s our expectation. …It’s not cemented. If something doesn’t look right, feel right, obviously we’ve got to pivot.
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“Maybe a lot of disappointed fans. We’re going to do what’s best for Shohei. But where we stand right now, I expect him to play.’’
Ohtani last pitched in 2023 for the Los Angeles Angels before undergoing his second elbow surgery in September that season that kept him from pitching in his first year with the Dodgers. He rehabbed his arm during the season while hitting 54 homers and stealing 59 bases. He hit .310 with a league-leading .390 on-base percentage, .646 slugging percentage and became the first player to hit at least 50 homers and steal 50 bases in the season, unanimously winning the MVP award.
The Dodgers now plan to exercise caution when he returns in 2025 as a two-way player.
“It’s going to be interesting,’’ Roberts said, “because the continued rehab with the left shoulder, keeping it strong, maintaining it, maintenancing it within the overall body stuff. Then, the pitching regimen, the side sessions of pitching, to then be a part of hitters’ meetings and get ready, get ramped up to take at-bats as a DH.’’
Ohtani went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts in his last season as a pitcher in 2023, while hitting .304 with a league-leading 44 homers and 95 RBI.
“I guess if anyone can manage it, it’s Shohei,’’ Roberts said. “But it’s certainly going to look a lot different. I don’t think the left shoulder is going to have much of an impact on Shohei’s pitching, I think his innings, his right elbow, is the biggest factor.
“I just think the question is when he starts pitching in Major League games.’’
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