Dodgers to 'Slow-Play' Shohei Ohtani's Pitching Return amid Elbow Injury, Roberts Says

The Los Angeles Dodgers have given Shohei Ohtani a "little respite" from pitching as he continues to rehabilitate from elbow ligament reconstruction and labrum surgery on his left shoulder, manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Thursday.

While Ohtani is still throwing, he hasn't had a bullpen session since Feb. 25 and his pitching progression has been slowed after communications between the player and the team's medical staff.

"We just felt that to intensify the bullpens alongside of the intensity of the games wasn't smart," Roberts said. "So we just wanted to kind of slow-play it."

The Dodgers had previously seemed to be eying a May return to the mound for Ohtani, though that timeline now feels very much up in the air.

"I just feel, and we all feel, (that we're) just trying to make it a broad time to return," Roberts said. "We just don't know. And so I think that when he's ready, when the process, the progression, as it's going on, we'll know. But I don't want to put any kind of expectation on you guys, or Shohei."

Ohtani, 30, didn't pitch in the 2024 season due to his injury, though he was still available offensively and had an epic season, winning the NL MVP after hitting .310 with 54 home runs, 130 RBI, 134 runs, 59 stolen bases and a 1.036 OPS. He and the Dodgers also won the World Series.

Part of why Ohtani was signed to a 10-year, $700 million contract, however—outside of the massive marketing potential for the Dodgers, given Ohtani's popularity across the globe, and his willingness to defer $680 million worth of his salary—was his dual impact as both a batter and pitcher. To this point, the Dodgers have only seen one side of that equation, though he more than lived up to his end of the bargain in 2024.

Now, the only question remaining is when he'll pitch again.

"He's kind of really preparing on the offensive side, and given his surgery, and also appreciating the fact that he had surgery on his left shoulder too this offseason," Roberts said about that timeline. "So it's very kind of nuanced with him, and so just trying to make sure that we don't want to push something we don't need to."