Dodgers Manager Has Surprise Answer Regarding Shohei Ohtani's Build Up as Pitcher

Jun 22, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two‑way player Shohei Ohtani (17) looks on during the second inning against Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Manager Dave Roberts and the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to take two-way player Shohei Ohtani's return to pitching slowly, and don't know if he will make starts which last as long as a normal starter would.

“I think we’re always gonna be cautious,” Roberts said. “So I don’t even know what that’s going to look like, to be ‘fully built-up.’ I don’t think anyone knows what that looks like. Because it’s not a normal starting pitcher. So to say six (innings) and 90 (pitches), I don’t even know if we’ll get to that point.”

Ohtani made his second pitching appearance for the Dodgers on Sunday against the Washington Nationals, where he pitched a perfect first inning and struck out two. It went much better than his first appearance since coming to the National League, where he threw 28 pitches and allowed a run in one inning against the San Diego Padres.

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The reigning MVP tore his UCL in 2023 while pitching for the Los Angeles Angels, and was unable to pitch during his first season in blue.

Dodgers fans have highly anticipated Ohtani's return to the mound since he came to the Dodgers — and ford good reason, as he established himself as an elite pitcher between 2021 and 2023.

Across the three years, he had a 2.84 ERA with a 151 ERA+. He made three All-Star games — pitching a scoreless inning in one of them — and placed fourth in Cy Young voting for 2022.

Ohtani has served as an opener for both of his two starts, and the Dodgers never had planned to have him pitch more than one inning in an outing to start off.

“It’s going to be a gradual process,” Ohtani said.

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The Dodgers will hope for Ohtani to have more outings like Sunday's as he continues to insert himself into the rotation. He is an important piece for the Dodgers on both offense and pitching and is the key to defending their NL West title once again.

They will take on the Colorado Rockies in a three-game series beginning Tuesday at 5:40 p.m. PT.

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