The leisurely tempo at which he’s build up his arm factors to a scarcity of urgency, however don’t be deceived. His workforce’s place within the standings signifies his return to the mound is extra of a luxurious than a necessity, however don’t be lured right into a false sense of safety.
The Dodgers want Shohei Ohtani to pitch this season, they usually want him to pitch properly.
Even after an offseason through which they added Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers are again to the place they had been final 12 months. Their rotation is unraveling.
Snell is on the injured listing alongside Tyler Glasnow, and the 23-year-old Sasaki has appeared like a 23-year-old rookie.
Ohtani pitching was seen nearly as a bonus for the defending World Sequence champions initially of the season, but it surely might now be a requirement for them to defend their title.
Think about who’s lined as much as begin for the Dodgers over the following 4 days in a vital collection towards the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Discipline: Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Thursday, Sasaki on Friday, Dustin Might on Saturday, adopted by a possible bullpen sport on Sunday.
If the playoffs began subsequent week, that very properly may very well be their rotation, and who on that listing conjures up any type of confidence outdoors of Yamamoto?
A lot can occur between now and October, in fact. Clayton Kershaw might be eligible to be activated from the 60-day injured listing on the workforce’s upcoming homestand. Snell and Glasnow determine to return in a few month.
Then once more, Kershaw barely pitched final season and is now 37. Snell and Glasnow are sidelined with shoulder points, which is unsettling. Yamamoto missed three months along with his personal shoulder issues final season and questions stay about his sturdiness.
The Los Angeles Dodgers even have among the best information in baseball, however nobody appears to be too thrilled by it. Accidents, query marks and hitters not hitting are points.
The Dodgers have three frontline-caliber pitchers in Yamamoto, Snell and Glasnow, and 4 in the event that they rely Ohtani. However they need to brace themselves for the chance that one or two of them may be unavailable in October, as was the case final 12 months when Glasnow was injured.
This might clarify why the Dodgers are taking their time with Ohtani, who isn’t anticipated to pitch till after the All-Star break, in line with an individual aware of the workforce’s pondering however not approved to talk publicly.
Conscious of Ohtani’s long-term well being, the workforce has taken a methodical strategy with the two-way participant, limiting him to a lightweight bullpen session in the course of the week and a daily one on Saturdays. Ohtani nonetheless isn’t throwing any sliders on the recommendation of the medical workers, supervisor Dave Roberts advised reporters final week.
“Just the strain on the elbow,” Roberts stated. “I think that’s the thought.”
Ohtani is recovering from his second Tommy John surgical procedure that he underwent late within the 2023 season and Roberts stated final month that he didn’t have any issues with the deliberate tempo of his restoration.
“I think he understands that the goal is to make sure he’s firing on all cylinders toward the end of the season and into October,” Roberts stated.
The anticipated timeline, nevertheless, will restrict the alternatives Ohtani has to rediscover himself on the mound.
Walker Buehler was in an analogous scenario final 12 months. Earlier than Buehler grew to become a World Sequence hero, he spent the common season getting his tooth kicked in, posting a 5.38 earned-run common in 16 begins. He made the playoff rotation as a result of the Dodgers didn’t have some other choices.
Ohtani may have just a little greater than two months for such trial and error, and even much less if the Nationwide League West stays aggressive. Proper now, the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants are proper there with the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks are inside hanging distance. The Dodgers may want Ohtani to ship from them on the mound earlier than October.
Earlier this 12 months, dwelling run king Barry Bonds stated he thought Ohtani ought to focus extra on hitting by pitching as a reliever as a substitute of a starter. An argument may very well be made that Bonds’ ideas make sense — for Ohtani. They wouldn’t make sense for the Dodgers, who desperately want him to pitch. Their roster requires it.
