Shohei Ohtani is now a year and a half into his Los Angeles Dodgers career without throwing a pitch from an MLB mound. That might finally change soon.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated an Ohtani return could be near while speaking with reporters ahead of Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants. He announced Ohtani would be throwing to live hitters early next week, then was asked if that would be his final step before making a full return to the mound.
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The first, and most important, word of Roberts’ answer: “Potentially.”
His full response:
“Potentially. He’s getting very eager, getting very exited. I think that there’s a point in hearing from Shohei that the effort that it takes to throw live and play a game, let’s use those bullets in a game. So he’s getting very excited.”
Ohtani was expected to be a hitter only in his first season with the Dodgers, but the team hoped he could resume the two-way responsibilities that made him a superstar by Opening Day of this year. That obviously hasn’t happened, as a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder sustained in the 2024 World Series threw off his offseason rehab timetable.
The Dodgers have been as hazy as possible when it comes to Ohtani’s current timetable, though it’s well-established he won’t be going on a rehab assignment because his bat is too valuable. Roberts’ comments on Sunday indicated the date might not be too far ahead in the future.
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It’s been a chaotic time in general for the Dodgers’ rotation, which is currently without Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and many more. Glasnow and Snell could both be a month away, while Roberts said Sunday that Sasaki has been shut down from throwing, with no timetable for a return.
When asked if Sasaki, currently on the IL with a right shoulder impingement, was no longer in the team’s long-term plans for 2025, Roberts answered in the affirmative.
The rotation is at least set to get a boost soon, as Emmet Sheehan, out since spring training of 2024 with Tommy John surgery, is currently finishing up a rehab assignment. Roberts said there is a “very high likelihood” of him getting activated to fill a rotation hole on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
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