LOS ANGELES — It’s Sho time.
After facing hitters in live batting practice just three times in about three weeks, Shohei Ohtani will make his return to the mound Monday against the San Diego Padres. Ohtani will start the game but only pitch an inning or two before right-hander Ben Casparius takes over from there.
“He’s ready to pitch in a major-league game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He let us know that.”
The plan was for Ohtani to throw another live batting practice session this week but Roberts said Ohtani was “getting antsy” and lobbied to turn that live BP session into a short stint in a real game. Continuing the sessions against minor-league hitters had reached a point of “diminishing returns,” he said.
“That’s kind of how it went, yeah,” Roberts said. “Just kind of talking to Mark (Prior) and Andrew (Friedman) and the doctors and medical (staff) and (Ohtani) just kind of saying, ‘Okay, we’ve done the three-inning live, it’s a little taxing or more taxing on my body.’ “
This will be Ohtani’s first appearance as a pitcher since he was pulled in the second inning of the Angels’ game against the Cincinnati Reds on August 23, 2023. He had a second elbow surgery about a month later.
He began his buildup as a pitcher last March and the Dodgers slow-played it, not wanting to risk anything that would take him out of the lineup as a hitter. He started throwing bullpen sessions late in the 2024 season but stopped during the Dodgers’ postseason run.
He was on a mound again during spring training and was throwing 95 mph in bullpen sessions. But the Dodgers again chose to slow things down. He faced hitters for the first time in a simulated game on May 25 then repeated it two more times, building up to three innings and 44 pitches last Tuesday.
“The live, simulated, or whatever, sort of ran its course,” Roberts said Sunday.
“It’s very exciting. For me, I’m still a baseball fan first. I really am. And the anticipation here for the game is, man, it’s going to be bananas when it happens. There’s been a lot of anticipation. I think we’ve done it the right way as far as our process, communicating with Shohei and feeling good.”
Roberts said Ohtani will throw “probably an inning to start” and add to that each time out, most likely once a week up to the All-Star break. The change in plans allows the Dodgers to take advantage of Ohtani’s readiness in short bursts rather than waiting for “a typical starting pitcher ramp up” that would take longer.
“A week ago, we were talking about another live (batting practice) and potentially getting to four innings, things like that,” Roberts said. “But the conversations, the confidence that he has, it’s time to go.”