The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a scare during Shohei Ohtani’s start against the Cincinnati Reds on July 30 as he walked off the field with a trainer.
Ohtani exited as a pitcher in the fourth inning but remained the designated hitter for the rest of the game after it was determined that he was merely dealing with cramps rather than a serious injury.
Ohtani revealed after his start that the issue was specific to his right hip and that he first began experiencing trouble with cramping during the first inning.
At the time it still was his longest outing of the season despite not recording any outs in the fourth inning. He also threw a season-high 51 pitches.
The Dodgers have meticulously planned out Ohtani’s rehab and progression as a pitcher, dating back to last season, and make decisions with the upmost caution. For a brief moment, it had appeared as if the Dodgers’ worst fear had come true and it served as a good reminder why the team has brought Ohtani along slowly as a pitcher.
With that in mind, the Dodgers don’t foresee Ohtani throwing more than five innings in a start at any point this season.
The team believes that innings should be sufficient in helping them get through a game and asking any more of Ohtani would not be worth the risk to his health.
“We don’t need him to. I think that it’s possible. I’m not saying it’s unlikely,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think the five-inning threshold is something that we feel can get you through a game and use relievers.
“So you’re still weighing the fact of the cost of getting him more beyond that, right? So I think that the five-inning threshold, we’re very comfortable with now.
“Going forward, we’ll see if that changes. But I think for sure for the next few turns, I don’t see him getting beyond five. I mean, I feel very confident in that.”
The Dodgers believe it is more prudent to err on the side of caution when it comes to Ohtani’s workload as a pitcher because of the everyday impact he provides in the lineup.
“Well, I think it’s workload, it’s tax to the body. There could be kind of five innings is more than four, there’s more stress,” Roberts explained.
“I think this is just his first year, and it’s probably a better question for the training staff, but for me, my eyes, first year pitching again, what we’re doing right now is essentially house money. It’s additive being the two-way player.
“So then we got to be mindful of Shohei now, and also going forward.”
Ohtani made his scheduled start this past Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals without further incident, setting season highs in innings (four) and strikeouts (eight) while allowing just one earned run. He also hit a home run in the game.
Why are the Dodgers are managing Shohei Ohtani’s fatigue?
The best way the Dodgers can practice preventative medicine is by helping Ohtani avoid excess fatigue. As the only player in the Majors pitching and hitting, he puts a lot more strain on his body than any contemporary.
If the Dodgers want to give Ohtani the best chance possible at remaining healthy, they have to manage his workload.
“Any trainer, doctor, will say that fatigue increases the chance of injury,” Roberts said. “So if you can kind of manage that, I think that’s a very smart way to go, and that’s kind of where we are all aligned as an organization.”
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