Dodgers Don't Know When Shohei Ohtani Will Face Hitters as Pitcher

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani secured the team's eighth consecutive win of the 2025 season Wednesday night in MVP fashion.

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The Dodgers faced an early five-run deficit against the Atlanta Braves thanks to sloppy defense and poor pitching.

Though there was no Freddie Freeman in the lineup, Ohtani became the latest Dodger to hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Dodgers superstar made sure to reward fans for attending his bobblehead night.

While Ohtani continues to flourish as the Dodgers' designated hitter, fans are eager to see the reigning NL MVP return to two-way status. As for when Ohtani will return to the mound, the Dodgers still don't know.

Manager Dave Roberts gave the latest update surrounding Ohtani's throwing progression.

“He’ll throw a heavier bullpen on Saturday,” Roberts said. “I think we’ll go from there. There’s still many bullpens to come, but we don’t have it targeted yet, when he’s going to face hitters. We’re not there yet.”

There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Ohtani's return to two-way status, and it's uncertain when he will make his pitching debut this season. However, Roberts recently said the Dodgers are hoping to get at least 18-20 starts from Ohtani.

“We would bank that right now,” said Roberts.

Ohtani explained why he and the Dodgers came to the decision to slow-play his throwing progression as the season started.

“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.”

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