Dodgers to be ‘nimble’ with Shohei Ohtani’s pitching workload on way back from 2023 elbow surgery

As two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani works his way back from elbow surgery, the Dodgers are aware that he may not be 100% for the 2025 season. Instead, manager Dave Roberts said Monday, the team will be “nimble” with Ohtani’s pitching workload. 

To that end, Roberts said it’s “unlikely” that Ohtani will pitch during the Dodgers’ opening series in Japan next year, to be held in Tokyo on March 18 and 19.

That isn’t too shocking. There’s no reason to push him to start in a two-game series that doesn’t line up with the rest of the season, especially since they’ll want Ohtani-the-pitcher firing on all cylinders for the playoffs. That’s much more important than the middle of March. 

Remember, not only did Ohtani have that elbow surgery in the fall of 2023, but he had to have surgery on his left (non-pitching) shoulder after injuring it during the World Series. Roberts did mention to reporters that the expectation was Ohtani will be ready from the get-go as a hitter. 

Ohtani, 30, won his third MVP in four seasons last season — his first with the Dodgers after signing a $700 million deal last offseason. He hit .310/.390/.646 (190 OPS+) with 38 doubles, seven triples, 54 homers, 130 RBI, 134 runs, 59 stolen bases and 9.2 WAR. 

Obviously, his value on the offensive side is monstrous. He just became the first player ever to have a 50-50 season and win the MVP as a primary designated hitter. 

Just remember, the last time he pitched in a season was 2023 and he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings. He finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2022. 

The Dodgers will have an internal innings target in the regular season with Ohtani, perhaps somewhere in the 150 range. That’s part of why there’s no reason to put him on the mound in Tokyo, not to mention the fact that they also have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell alongside Ohtani in that rotation. 

Given the returns of Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May from major injury, the Dodgers will have at least six starting pitchers for the rotation and odds are they’ll use at least eight at various points. The main goal will be as much health as possible for October. They won the World Series last year with only three starting pitchers, but they’d surely love to avoid using a bullpen game as a fourth starter if possible.