The Dodgers may be battered and bruised on the mound, but help could be on the horizon — and it’s coming from the biggest star in baseball.
Shohei Ohtani, working his way back from Tommy John surgery, took another massive step toward a potential return to pitching duties with a three-inning simulated outing Tuesday in San Diego. And by all accounts, it turned heads.
Ohtani threw 44 pitches against live minor league hitters, recording six strikeouts while allowing just one hit, one walk, and one wild pitch. It marked the first time he’s gone beyond two innings since his throwing program ramped up, and it came just 10 days after his last session on May 31.
The session was watched closely by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, pitching coach Mark Prior, and members of the team’s front office. While no one is ringing the alarm bell for a pre-All-Star break debut just yet, the tone has clearly shifted.
“I can safely say he won’t pitch for us until after the All-Star break,” Roberts told AM 570’s David Vassegh back on May 29.
Now? That timeline may be softening — even if just slightly. A possible return “north of zero” percent is a far cry from certainty, but it’s enough to spark hope inside a rotation that desperately needs it.
Right now, the Dodgers have eight starting pitchers on the injured list. That includes Tony Gonsolin, who was recently shelved with right elbow discomfort. It’s the kind of attrition that makes every rehab step from Ohtani feel that much more urgent — and that much more valuable.
And while he hasn’t touched the mound in a game yet this season, Ohtani has been plenty valuable already.
At the plate, the 30-year-old superstar is putting up MVP-caliber numbers again. Entering Tuesday’s game, he was slashing .291/.387/.628 with an OPS+ of 184 and a National League-leading 23 home runs. His presence in the lineup has helped carry the Dodgers through stretches of inconsistency, and now, the potential of him returning to the mound gives the team something more: hope for a second-half jolt.
If Ohtani can pitch again this year — even in a limited role — the Dodgers’ ceiling changes. That’s not speculation. That’s what a healthy Ohtani does to a team.
For now, it’s one step at a time. But for the first time in months, the idea of Ohtani toeing the rubber again doesn’t feel far off. And with the rotation stretched thin, his timing couldn’t be better.
