Dodgers Have Made Decision on Shohei Ohtani's Return to Pitching

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani addressed the media, somewhat of a rarity for the $700-million man, after making his return in Monday night's 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Ohtani had missed four consecutive games before going 0-for-3 with a walk on Monday night. The four-time MVP has been a hot topic in the Dodgers community, as lingering knee and biceps injuries that have kept him off the mound since July 3 are starting to get in the way of his offensive performance.

“I’m going to be focusing on hitting moving forward,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.

"Most likely no, and I'm gonna be focusing on hitting moving forward."

After missing the last 4 games, Shohei Ohtani (0-3, BB, 2 K) addresses whether he’ll pitch again this season following the #Dodgers 6-3 win over the Reds. Get closer to the action with SNLA+, with the MLB… pic.twitter.com/gF1mjDA34v
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 8, 2026

Ohtani's statement seems to confirm what many have expected: the two-way star will be a bit more one-dimensional for the rest of the season.

“I think the thing that I was more focused on was making sure that the pitching wouldn’t cause the worse scenario, which was for me to not be able to play at all,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani's injuries were beginning to do just that, as the usually dominant hitter has been in a brutal slump.

Since going 4-for-5 with two home runs against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 17, Ohtani has gone 6-for-54, good for a .111 batting average, with just one home run and two RBIs.

“That’s one part of the thought, to sort of take the pitching off of his plate and really try to let him lock in on being a hitter and get on track,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Because the last couple of weeks he just hasn’t been himself in the box.”

There was some thought that Ohtani could put himself in position to operate as an opener, pitching an inning or two in a playoff game before the bullpen is sent in. However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has now made it pretty clear that even that is "unlikely."

"If you're looking at the calendar, how much he's thrown in the last week, I think we can all do the math," Roberts said Sunday.

Shohei Ohtani’s first full at-bat after missing the last four games. @SportingTrib pic.twitter.com/MpPHCljnJY
— Fredo Cervantes (@FredoCervantes) September 8, 2026

Ohtani's preference has always been to pitch and hit, but Roberts said the decision to shut him down as a pitcher was based on "what's best for the team, No. 1, and 1-A, what's best for him."

At his peak, there is no one better offensively than Ohtani. The Dodgers have a loaded starting rotation with Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. Would Ohtani's availability only make the Dodgers' pitching staff better? Of course. But not if his pitching is negatively affecting his most valuable asset: his hitting.

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