Will we see Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani take the mound again this season?
“Most likely, no,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton when asked about pitching again this season following the team’s Monday night win at home over the Cincinnati Reds, per MLB.com. “I’m going to be focusing on hitting moving forward.”
Ohtani’s Monday night presence in the Dodgers’ lineup marked the end of a four-game absence, as the four-time MVP has been dealing with knee inflammation, right biceps discomfort and neck discomfort, among other issues. While he has consistently been in the Dodgers’ lineup as the team’s designated hitter, Ohtani hasn’t pitched since July 3.
Across the 14 starts he has made this year, Ohtani boasts a 1.79 ERA, an 0.95 WHIP and a 231 ERA+, while totaling 95 strikeouts and three wins above replacement in 85 ⅔ innings pitched.
“I’m confident that my overall performance should be better moving forward,” Ohtani said. “I think the thing that I was more focused on was making sure that the pitching wouldn’t cause the worst-case scenario, which was for me to not be able to play at all.”
Ohtani finished the 6-3 win on Monday night 0 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
“We’ve put a pin in throwing and just having him focus on the hitting, the running, keeping his legs good and doing whatever it takes to help us win,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about Ohtani in a pregame press conference on Monday night.
Ohtani didn’t pitch for the Dodgers in his debut season with the franchise in 2024, as he recovered from a torn UCL suffered in Aug. 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels, but the six-time All-Star went on to have the first 50-50 season (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases) in MLB history.
Ohtani made 14 starts for the Dodgers in the 2025 regular season, gradually working his way back to being a starting pitcher, and was part of the team’s postseason starting rotation en route to Los Angeles repeating as World Series champions.
As for his work with the bat, Ohtani has recorded 30 home runs, 80 RBIs, a 148 OPS+ and 3.5 wins above replacement, while sporting a .277/.380/.522 slash line.
Los Angeles has won five consecutive games (87-57) and has a two-game lead on the Atlanta Braves for the No. 2 seed in the National League playoffs. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the top seed in the NL.
