Shohei Ohtani 'most likely' will make his Dodgers pitching debut this week
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani throws in the outfield before Sunday's game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
The long-anticipated wait appears to be nearly over — Shohei Ohtani likely will pitch this week.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced after Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants that Ohtani "most likely" will make his Dodgers pitching debut this week against the San Diego Padres. He likely will be an opener, only pitching for one inning.
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'I don't know which day he's going to open for us, but there's a high probability he's going to open for us in the coming days," Roberts said.
For Ohtani, it's been a long road back to pitching. He signed with the Dodgers on a 10-year, $700-million contract before the 2024 season — a value representing not just his MVP-level bat, but his potential Cy Young Award-level pitching.
Read more: Clayton Kershaw tosses a gem, Shohei Ohtani homers twice in Dodgers' win over Giants
He underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2023, only hitting in his first season with the Dodgers. He tallied unprecedented numbers at the plate (.310 batting average, league-high 54 home runs, 130 RBI and 59 stolen bases). In recent weeks, Ohtani ramped up his throwing program, facing live hitters a handful of times.
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Ohtani had been brilliant for the Angels, going 38-19 with a 3.01 earned-run average over 86 starts since coming over from Japan before the 2018 season. In 2022, Ohtani posted his best pitching numbers in the majors, with a 15-9 record, a 2.33 earned-run average and 219 strikeouts over 166 innings en route to placing fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting.
It'll likely be an incremental start for Ohtani when he returns as he looks to add more pitches and innings in the weeks ahead.
'He's getting very eager, getting very excited,' Roberts said before Sunday's game. 'I think that there's a point where, in hearing from Shohei, that the effort that it takes to throw lives and things like that, [rather] than to play a game, then let's use those bullets in a game. He's getting very excited."
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Now those proverbial 'bullets' will likely be used this week at Dodger Stadium.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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