Despite not pitching last season, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani still turned in one of the greatest offensive campaigns in MLB history.
Ohtani became the first player ever to hit at least 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season — finishing with 54 bombs and 59 stolen bases. He dominated the National League leaderboards in home runs, RBI (130), on-base percentage (.390), slugging percentage (.636), and OPS+ (190), while also pacing all of MLB in runs scored (134) and total bases (411).
The historic performance earned him his third MVP award — his first in the National League — making him the first full-time designated hitter to capture the honor.
But while his bat dazzled, Ohtani’s arm remained silent in 2024, as he recovered from right elbow surgery performed in September 2023. Initially expected to return to the mound by May, his pitching timeline has now become increasingly uncertain.
Los Angeles Dodgers pause pitching side of Shohei Ohtani’s rehab
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including MLB.com’s Sonja Chen, that the team is deliberately slowing down the pitching side of Ohtani’s rehab.
“As the game has intensified, his work playing in games, it was sort of trying to give him a little respite from the rehab and to slow him down,” Roberts explained. “We’ve never really put a time on anything. … We just felt that to intensify the bullpens alongside the intensity of the games wasn’t smart, so we just wanted to kind of slow-play it.”
The two-way phenom hasn’t thrown a bullpen session since Feb. 25, though he continues to play catch to maintain arm strength. This comes as he simultaneously ramps up his designated hitter preparation for the regular season. According to reports, Ohtani isn’t expected to face live hitters until after the Dodgers return from their season-opening series against the Chicago Cubs in Japan on March 18 and 19.
The original expectation had Ohtani rejoining the rotation in May, when the Dodgers planned to implement a six-man rotation. However, with this latest adjustment to his rehab program, Roberts offered no concrete timeline for when fans might see the Japanese superstar back on the mound.
“[We’re] just trying to make it a broad time to return. We just don’t know,” Roberts admitted. “I think that when he’s ready, when the process, the progression, as it’s going on, we’ll know. But I don’t want to put any kind of expectation on… Shohei.”
Even though the Dodgers are pausing Ohtani’s pitching rehab, they still boast one of the best rotations in baseball with Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki.
In Ohtani’s seven years in the majors, he has already missed two full seasons of pitching due to arm injuries. Overall, he has made 86 starts — all with the Los Angeles Angels — compiling an impressive 38-19 record with a 3.01 ERA, 608 strikeouts across 481 2/3 innings, and a dominant 142 ERA+.
