Dave Roberts Provides Concerning Update on Shohei Ohtani’s Return to Pitching for Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers have decided to halt Shohei Ohtani's throwing program, according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

Ohtani last threw a bullpen on Feb. 25 and won't face live hitters until after the team returns from Japan.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team aimed to "slow-play" Ohtani’s pitching program while he ramped up as a hitter and took live at-bats, per Jack Harris of the LA Times.

Shohei Ohtani is still playing catch, but it has been more than a week since his last bullpen session

The reason, according to Dave Roberts: Ohtani and the team wanted to "slow-play" his pitching program as he began to ramp up as a hitter and take live game at-bats

(cont...)
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) March 6, 2025

Asked if Ohtani could still rejoin the rotation by May (as he targeted before camp), Roberts said:

"[We’re] just trying to make it a broad time to return. We just don't know. So I think that when he's ready … we'll know. But I don't want to put any kind of expectation on you…
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) March 6, 2025

“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 to reporters Thursday, via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

Roberts: "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."
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 6, 2025

The Dodgers were anticipating Ohtani's return to the mound would be sometime in late April or early May but how will this brief shutdown affect his return?

Roberts doesn't know yet.

“[We’re] just trying to make it a broad time to return. We just don’t know. So I think that when he’s ready … we’ll know. But I don’t want to put any kind of expectation on you guys, or Shohei.”

Roberts talked about May as a potential time for Ohtani to return to pitching. He acknowledged today "we just don't know" when Ohtani will return to pitching.
"I just feel, and we all feel, just trying to make it a broad time to return" without "any kind of expectation"
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 6, 2025

It's uncertain whether Ohtani experienced a setback, but the Dodgers are clearly taking a cautious approach to his return as a two-way player.

For now, he'll continue as the team's designated hitter, with the goal of resuming pitching at some point in the first half of the season.

For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI.

Dave Roberts Provides Concerning Update on Shohei Ohtani’s Return to Pitching for Dodgers

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