Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has not thrown a bullpen since Feb. 25, but manager Dave Roberts revealed Monday that the reigning National League Most Valuable Player will throw a bullpen session on Saturday, his first in what will be over a month.
Earlier this month, Roberts explained why the Dodgers and Ohtani came to an agreement to pause his throwing progression.
“We just felt that to intensify the bullpens alongside of the intensity of the games (as DH) wasn’t smart, so we just wanted to kind of slow-play it,” Roberts said.
Ohtani reaffirmed there were no bumps in the road, but instead, he felt it was best to focus on hitting for the time being.
“I wanted to prioritize the hitting aspect as we’re getting into the season, to get a little breather mentally and physically on the pitching side of things,” Ohtani said through his interpreter prior to the Tokyo Series in Japan. “This is according to plan and I’m quite pleased with how things are going.”
The Dodgers have not provided a timeline for Ohtani’s pitching debut in 2025, but he is still expected to take the mound sometime early this season. Saturday’s bullpen session will be a key first step in that process.
The defending champions are navigating new territory with Ohtani’s two-way status. Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior explained there were myriad complexities to the situation.
“It’s been one of those things where … we’re having to lean on him a lot,” Prior said. “We don’t really have this template or road map or even experience really dealing with a guy with a two-way situation. So we’re leaning on him, on how he’s feeling. I know they’re trying to control overall workload management with his left shoulder, coming back from that (surgery). The hitting, getting ready for the season – clearly, he’s an important part of our offensive side of the ball.”
