The Dodgers might have found the ultimate remedy for their injury-riddled rotation, and his name is Shohei Ohtani. The two-way sensation is finally back on the mound, and with his return, hopes of reviving the team’s pitching dominance are soaring. But there’s a twist. In his first two starts for the team, Ohtani has thrown just one inning. So what’s the holdup? Are the Dodgers playing it smart or playing without directions? Former Marlins President is surely not buying the plan. In fact, he thinks they’ve got it all wrong.
Ohtani has been impressive in his last two outings as the starting pitcher. In Sunday’s game against the Nats, he pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. But his restriction to just one inning is raising eyebrows. As frustration grows, David Samson would like to have a word with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Big announcement. Shohei Ohtani pitching on Sunday. Stop the presses! He pitched an inning, he threw 18 pitches, struck out two. Yippee! What are you doing? If I’m in the media in LA, I’ve got to ask Dave Roberts, ‘What exactly is your plan with Ohtani?’” he said, clearly frustrated with the team’s decision.
Luckily, Samson didn’t have to wait long for the answer; that question had already been voiced. LA Times reporter Jack Harris had asked Roberts when he expects Ohtani to return to full form. And he did answer, but not the way anyone expected. “That’s kind of TBD. I don’t even know what that’s going to look like, to be ‘fully built-up.’ I don’t think anyone knows what that looks like. Because it’s not a normal starting pitcher. So to say six innings and 90 pitches—I don’t even know if we’ll get to that point,” Roberts said. And for Samson, that answer offered enough clarity.
Shohei Ohtani looks back to towards first base after the final out in the first inning during his pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday, June 16, 2025. Ohtani s pitching outing was brief, lasting just one inning, tossing 28 pitches, giving up one run on two hits a pair of flare singles from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez and a sacrifice fly from Manny Machado. PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxONLY LAP2025061618 JIMxRUYMEN
“You just said the quiet part out loud. You just showed how you’re taking advantage of the roster spot given to Ohtani as a two-way player. You’re now showing other teams, ‘why do I have to build up Ohtani on a rehab assignment? Forget about it’” he slammed the skipper. In his opinion, the team rushed his comeback without giving Ohtani a chance to go on a rehab assignment. “Oh, he’s going to throw one inning at a time at the big league level every five or six days? That’s not even spring training bullpen buildup, where you throw one in every two days and eventually go back-to-back before the season starts, and you’re ready to roll,” he added.
It is understandable why the Dodgers are being extra cautious about giving him a traditional starter’s workload. They would want to protect that Cy Young-level arm at any cost. But if they had given him more than just simulated bullpen sessions, they could have used his full potential. As of now, his pitching in full form is not going to happen anytime soon, not before the ASG, for sure. Well, the Dodgers can’t risk losing the team’s best hitter. And the team is even ready to make lineup changes for him to make sure he is safe.
Dave Roberts hints at lineup shake-up
Ohtani is surely making headlines for his return to the mound, but the superstar slugger in him is definitely not on a break. After his scoreless first-inning start against the Nats on Sunday, he went to the dugout, geared up, and returned to the plate within minutes. That’s Ohtani, the two-way player! And guess what? The Unicorn reclaimed his top position in the NL for most home runs. He hit his 26th homer in the eighth inning, and the Dodgers won over the Nats, 13-7. He is stellar as a two-way star, but down the road, the team may consider changing his lead-off spot.
Just before the game, Roberts was asked if he would consider Ohtani hitting elsewhere in the lineup on days he starts. And the manager was affirmative. “Yeah, I can. I can. You know, just today he’s going to throw an inning, potentially, and he’s going to walk up to the on-deck circle and put his stuff on to take the first at-bat. He’s good with it right now, but is there a scenario where I feel that it might be better for him in that first at-bat to kind of reshuffle the lineup to give him one, two, three hitters to get set? Sure, absolutely,” he said.
The team would want to make sure they are not putting too much pressure on the former MVP. Yes, he can steer the season for the Dodgers if they use his full potential as a two-way player. But that means gambling their chance for another look at the championship ring. The Dodgers, currently leading the NL West division with a 48-31 record, definitely don’t want to take that risk. How would the team plan the rest of the season for Ohtani? Whatever the plan may be, the priority is, without doubt, safety.
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