For the second straight season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are dealing with numerous injuries to their rotation. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are both sidelined with shoulder inflammation, Clayton Kershaw is currently making rehab starts after undergoing knee and toe surgery in the offseason, and Shohei Ohtani has yet to take the mound.
While the return timeline for Snell and Glasnow remains uncertain, Kershaw is expected to make his season debut sometime this month, with Ohtani appearing to be a couple months away.
Ohtani has yet to pitch for the Dodgers since signing a 10-year, $700 million contract. He didn’t take the mound last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2023, but that didn’t stop him from becoming baseball’s first 50 home run-50 stolen base player in history as he won his first NL MVP award and third overall in 2024.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently indicated that Ohtani, who has thrown a couple of bullpen sessions, is still weeks away from pitching in a major league game.
“Hopefully at some point in time we’re gonna start getting him to face some hitters, do some simulated games, start throwing some sliders,” Roberts said, via MLB.com. “So, I think if you just look at the natural progression, he’s still a couple of months away.”
With Ohtani progressing toward a return to the mound, Yahoo Sports MLB analyst Jake Mintz predicts the Dodgers will keep the superstar from pitching in the postseason.
“A full-gas return to pitching increases the likelihood of an injury that could sideline Ohtani for a significant stretch. If such an issue arises in October, it would leave L.A.’s lineup undermanned at the worst possible time,” writes Mintz.
Mintz continues: “And so there’s a compelling argument that utilizing Ohtani, the pitcher, in the postseason represents an unnecessary risk — a risk that, in a worst-case scenario, could sink this Dodgers juggernaut. Because while L.A.’s starting staff has been decimated by injuries in 2025, there remains a strong chance that the Dodgers enter October with enough healthy, competent starters.”
Mintz’s assessment makes sense. The Dodgers still have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin available to start games, along with a returning Kershaw, not to mention Snell and Glasnow when they recover.
As exciting as it would be to see Ohtani pitch in October, the Dodgers may prioritize keeping his valuable bat in the lineup rather than risk a potential injury on the mound.
