The leisurely tempo at which he’s build up his arm factors to an absence of urgency, however don’t be deceived. His group’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, and so they want him to pitch properly.
Even after an offseason by which they added Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers are again to the place they have been final yr. Their rotation is unraveling.
Snell is on the injured checklist alongside Tyler Glasnow, and the 23-year-old Sasaki has seemed like a 23-year-old rookie.
Ohtani pitching was seen nearly as a bonus for the defending World Sequence champions at first of the season, but it surely may now be a requirement for them to defend their title.
Take into account who’s lined as much as begin for the Dodgers over the subsequent 4 days in a essential collection in opposition to 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 might be their rotation, and who on that checklist conjures up any form of confidence exterior of Yamamoto?
Lots can occur between now and October, in fact. Clayton Kershaw will probably be eligible to be activated from the 60-day injured checklist on the group’s upcoming homestand. Snell and Glasnow determine to return in a couple of 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 together with his personal shoulder issues final season and questions stay about his sturdiness.
The Los Angeles Dodgers even have among the finest data 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 should brace themselves for the chance that one or two of them is likely to be unavailable in October, as was the case final yr 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 accordance with an individual acquainted with the group’s considering however not licensed to talk publicly.
Aware of Ohtani’s long-term well being, the group has taken a methodical strategy with the two-way participant, limiting him to a light-weight bullpen session in the midst of the week and an everyday one on Saturdays. Ohtani nonetheless isn’t throwing any sliders on the recommendation of the medical workers, supervisor Dave Roberts informed reporters final week.
“Just the strain on the elbow,” Roberts mentioned. “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 mentioned 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 mentioned.
The anticipated timeline, nevertheless, will restrict the alternatives Ohtani has to rediscover himself on the mound.
Walker Buehler was in an identical state of affairs final yr. 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 a little bit 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 putting distance. The Dodgers would possibly want Ohtani to ship from them on the mound earlier than October.
Earlier this yr, residence run king Barry Bonds mentioned he thought Ohtani ought to focus extra on hitting by pitching as a reliever as a substitute of a starter. An argument might 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.
