When the postseason starts, Shohei Ohtani could be more than an opener.
He could be a full-fledged starting pitcher.
“In theory, yes,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Imagine: Ohtani pitching for the Dodgers in the World Series.
Only this time, he wins.
Only this time, he has a signature Fall Classic moment on the mound.
It’s now possible.
A newly divulged timeline for Ohtani’s pitching comeback could be a game-changer for the Dodgers, who were bracing themselves for the possibility that the two-way player wouldn’t be able to pitch more than an inning or two a game in October. Roberts previously said whatever additional innings Ohtani could provide this season would be “bonuses.”
The change in Ohtani’s pitching outlook was a welcome development when the uncertainties over the offense and bullpen intensified because of injuries to center fielder Andy Pages and closer Edwin Diaz.
Pages will miss four to five weeks as he recovers from a minor operation to repair a broken left hand. The slumping Diaz was placed on the 15-day injured list with what was described by the Dodgers as neck inflammation.
Ohtani reported no problems after throwing 30 pitches to Will Smith in a simulated game on Saturday and that set him up to throw a bullpen session over the next few days. Roberts said depending on how Ohtani comes out of that, he could throw in either another simulated game or an actual game.
That game could be on Sunday in Detroit, where the Dodgers will conclude their upcoming two-city, six-game trip.
Regardless of whether Ohtani makes that start or delays his return by another week, he will be in position to start four or five games before the end of the regular season.
The expectation is for Ohtani to pitch one inning in his first game, just as he did last year when he returned from his second Tommy John surgery. His buildup last season was extremely deliberate, as he pitched an inning in each of his first two games and two innings in each of the two after that.
“I would say it would be a little more aggressive,” Roberts said.
That being the case, Roberts said Ohtani could be sufficiently stretched out to pitch five-plus innings by the start of the playoffs. This will be a particularly motivated version of Ohtani, who should be looking to make up for a postseason last year in which he was underwhelming on the mound outside of his famous three-homer, 10-strikeout game against the Brewers in the National League Championship Series.
That could be essential for the rotation, as the Dodgers could have to rely on the vaunted group even more than they anticipated.
In Pages, the Dodgers lost not only a first-rate defender at a premium position but also their co-leader in RBIs. An offense that has trouble scoring against postseason-caliber teams will be further compromised, especially if Pages misses the remainder of the regular season and doesn’t have a chance to rediscover an offensive rhythm. Maintaining low-scoring environments could be paramount for the Dodgers.
Can Diaz help with that? The $69 million closer was already pitching his way out of his customary ninth-inning role when he hurt his neck. If he continues performing the way he did before landing on the injured list, he won’t make the team’s playoff roster.
But Ohtani’s return to the mound will also benefit the bullpen. The Dodgers are expected to field a four-man rotation in the postseason, with Ohtani following Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell. That would enable them to move Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki into the bullpen.
Glasnow, who has missed more than three months because of back problems, is scheduled to pitch on Tuesday against the Braves in Atlanta. Sasaki is second on the team to Yamamoto in games started with 22, but he was the team’s closer in the playoffs last year and is expected to be deployed as a reliever again this October.
But with home-field advantage in the postseason to be determined over the remaining five weeks of the regular season, the Dodgers can’t remove Sasaki from the rotation just yet. Also, with Glasnow and Ohtani still in the initial stages of their comebacks, there remains a chance that Sasaki could be needed to start games in the playoffs.
That complicates Sasaki’s transition to the bullpen, particularly if the Dodgers intend to use him in high-leverage situations. Last year, Sasaki prepared for his postseason role by pitching two games as a reliever in the final week of the regular season.
“I don’t want to start talking about Roki in the bullpen right now,” Roberts said. “I don’t want to do that.”
Uncomfortable decisions will have to be made in the coming weeks. Roberts knows that. But the situation feels more manageable than it did a couple of days ago, if only because of one simple fact.
Ohtani could be starting games and taking down innings in October.
