With Tyler Glasnow having already been ruled out and Gavin Stone unlikely to pitch again this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ postseason rotation remains in a state of flux.
At present, only Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are considered locks. The other two spots could go to Walker Buehler and Landon Knack unless Clayton Kershaw is able to return from a bone spur in his left big toe.
Another potential wild card on their pitching staff could be Shohei Ohtani, who has not pitched at all in 2024 while recovering from right elbow surgery. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not rule out the possibility of Ohtani returning to the mound in October, and team officials are meeting with the two-way star to discuss a potential plan.
However, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the meeting will center around Ohtani continuing his rehab with an eye on returning to the mound in 2025, rather than the postseason, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“The meeting is about his rehab progression and timing for how to get him ready for next year – which has always been planned to get into,” Friedman said. “If you strip away what’s going on with the Dodgers, right now he’s thrown about five bullpens, which is the equivalent of January, late January in his progression (in a normal offseason buildup) and October lines up at some point middle to late for live BPs like pitchers do when they come to spring training.
“The question is whether to do those then (in October) or do them in November but make sure he has enough shutdown time before the start of the following year. This has been on our radar as something to talk about since spring training.”
Friedman added that Ohtani isn’t a realistic option to pitch for the Dodgers in October because he already has to focus on hitting:
“The whole meeting is about how we handle his rehab to have him in the best position to be ready to go in ’25 while also taking the least amount of toll on him in ’24 because he will have an important job in October as it is,” Friedman said. “Okay – if you suspend it then and do it in November, is that enough time or do you ramp him up and have him a little bit later (at the start of next season)? That’s the stuff we have to get into.
“I don’t know the answer to that.”
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes previously shut down the idea of Ohtani pitching in 2024, deeming there’s “no world” where that would happen.
Ohtani was recently asked if he felt capable of pitching in October, but didn’t state one way or the other. The 30-year-old’s last time on the mound was Aug. 23, 2023, when he pitched just 1.1 scoreless innings before leaving with the right elbow injury that ultimately required surgery.
Shohei Ohtani joins 50-50 club
Ohtani became the first player to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season after a historic performance against the Miami Marlins.
Ohtani went 6-for-6 with two doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, four runs scored and two stolen bases in the Dodgers’ 20-4 win at LoanDepot Park.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
