by Cary Osborne
The buzz began Sunday night.
Many Dodgers found out the way you did.
Dodger relief pitcher Alex Vesia said, “My wife told me.” She found out through social media.
All of this has happened so quickly. The Dodgers sent out the announcement at 7:30 p.m. that Shohei Ohtani would be making his Dodger pitching debut on Monday against the San Diego Padres.
Ohtani was throwing bullpen in Spring Training and has progressed throughout the season. But recently, he began ramping things up.
He threw his first simulated innings on May 25 at Citi Field in New York. He threw again on May 31. Last Tuesday he got up to three simulated innings in San Diego.
Manager Dave Roberts said recently that Ohtani had been getting antsy.
Now the reins are off.
“If it’s going to be an inning or two, it’s like, ‘Well, I’ve already done that. So can I pitch now?’” Roberts described a recent conversation. “So you’ve got to hear the player and trust the player.”
Dodger Executive Vice President and General Manager Brandon Gomes said the decision to start Ohtani on Monday all came together in the last 48 hours. After each bullpen and each live session (simulated game), Ohtani and the Dodger decision group would have conversations to make sure that he was feeling good and bouncing back.
“The conversation of how he’s feeling, and then his stuff was coming out great in bullpens, and then the lives were very encouraging as well,” Gomes said of the signs that Ohtani was ready to pitch for the first time in a Major League game since Aug. 23, 2023. “It got to the point where it feels like we should take that next step and almost look to finish the rehab at the Major League level because of the taxing nature of what he was doing.”
This will not be a traditional start. Ohtani is expected to go short — one to two innings — and he will exit the game when it’s time.
After tonight, he will continue to be built up as a starter. But how that looks is to be determined.
“He’ll pitch tonight,” Gomes said. “Let’s have a conversation, see how he feels, what makes sense moving forward, and just do that over and over again and making sure that everything is set up, or that we’re not taking on any additional risk.”
The Dodgers are mindful of the demands on Ohtani, who is not just a two-way player but an everyday player in the lineup as the team’s designated hitter. Gomes said if Ohtani needs a day of recovery down the line, he will get it.
This is unchartered territory for the Dodgers. Not for Ohtani — who pitched five seasons for the Angels and started 86 games. So they will rely a lot on his feedback.
For now, he is thrust into it — starting as a pitcher against a lethal lineup in the Padres and batting first for the Dodgers.
“I think I’ve got the best seat in the house to watch it,” Roberts said. “This is bananas. So I’m thrilled.”
Other Dodgers are just as amped.
“I’m just fired up to watch, to be honest,” said pitcher Emmet Sheehan, who is with the big league club as a decision looms on the next step in his rehab from Tommy John surgery. “I’m pretty excited that I got here at this time, pretty lucky to be able to watch it.”
Evan Phillips had Tommy John surgery last week, but he also said this was a can’t-miss moment.
“He was on the 50/50 hunt last year. He’d be in the locker room pitching dry reps,” Phillips said. “I’m like, ‘This guy’s an MVP and still worried about his delivery.’ It’s special. I’m really happy I get to be here, to be a part of it.”
Rookie reliever Jack Dreyer said he will be seated in the Dodger bullpen before the scheduled first pitch at 7:10 p.m.
“When I heard he was pitching, I was super pumped,” Dreyer said. “I’ve been watching all of his bullpens all his lives (simulated games). I think he’s such an electric arm, and you can learn a lot from him. But to actually see him in a game is going to be really special.”
For Shohei Ohtani the pitcher, it was time was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.