Shohei Ohtani is once again dominating National League pitchers this season, but there is good news for opposing hitters: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar won’t be returning to the mound until sometime after the July All-Star break.
As reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Dodgers don’t see any reason to rush Ohtani back from his second Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow. Ohtani followed his 2018 elbow surgery with another Tommy John procedure as a member of the Los Angeles Angels in September of 2023.
Even with Ohtani’s pitching future in doubt, he nonetheless signed a back-loaded $700 million deal with the Dodgers before winning the National League’s MVP and his first World Series in 2024.
Now he’s hitting an impressive .308 and ranks third among all hitters with 12 home runs on the season.
‘Between him and Barry Bonds, they’re the two best players I’ve ever seen,’ told reporters after Ohtani’s game-winning three-run homer against the Diamondbacks on Friday. ‘I played with Barry. But what Shohei does in the clutch, I’ve never seen anything like what he does in the clutch.’
Baseball’s first true two-way player since Babe Ruth, Ohtani’s elbow issues haven’t hurt him at the plate, where he’s averaged 44.5 home runs per season over the past four years.
Shohei Ohtani is seen pitching in spring training as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts watches
But the heavily deferred contract he received from the Dodgers suggests the team does expect him to fulfil his potential as both a hitter and a pitcher. And while only a handful of hurlers have enjoyed success after a second Tommy John Surgery (Texas’ Nathan Eovaldi, for instance), Ohtani’s return might be more of a necessity than a luxury.
This year’s big pitching acquisition, Blake Snell, and as well as last year’s, Tyler Glasnow, are both battling shoulder issues in LA. And while one of Ohtani’s countrymen, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, has been nearly unhittable, another, Rokie Sasaki, has struggled with his velocity and control in his first season since coming over from Japan.
Furthermore, the once-promising Bobby Miller has been demoted to the minors amid his struggles and veteran ace Clayton Kershaw remains on the 60-day injured list with a toe problem, although he has been pitching with Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets. Most recently, Kershaw pitched four innings against Albuquerque, giving up two hits, including one home run.
Thanks to a strong bullpen, the Dodgers have a respectable team earned-run average of 3.83, but the real reason they sit atop the NL West standings is an offense that has scored 228 runs entering Monday – more than all but two MLB teams.
Ohtani was among the best pitchers in baseball with the Angeles in 2021, 2022 and 2023, maintaining an ERA below 3.20 and once finishing fourth in the Cy Young voting.
