Could Shohei Ohtani Return to the Mound for the Playoffs?
As the Major League Baseball playoffs continue to approach rapidly, teams in contention for the World Series title know that they have to be all hands on deck if they want to play deep into October. The Los Angeles Dodgers are taking that phrase to the next level as manager Dave Roberts said the door is not closed on two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani being available to pitch in the playoffs next month. Ohtani has not pitched at all this season following elbow surgery on his throwing arm last September. He was reported not to be able to pitch again until the 2025 season, but apparently, that could change next month.
It is not uncommon to see pitchers come back to game-ready performance in about a calendar year after arm surgery, but the difference here is most pitchers go through a whole rehab process throwing in simulated games and in minor league games. If Ohtani were to make a comeback on the mound in 2024, he would, in all likelihood, not have the luxury of a full rehab process to ramp up to 100% since there is so little time left in the season. Not to mention, having your first action on the mound in a full year under the pressure of the playoffs, where every pitch has increased significance, is no easy task for any big league pitcher. However, if there is anyone who could do it, it would be Ohtani.
The Dodgers may be considering this as an option out of necessity. It was just announced on Saturday that Tyler Glasnow will likely be out for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs. This leaves the Dodgers rotation extremely thin heading into the last few weeks of the season. Not to mention, their two top starters right now, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler, are both coming off injuries of their own this season. The Dodgers understand the importance of pitching depth in the playoffs, and if Ohtani is able to be even a portion of himself, he would be able to provide the Dodgers just that and then some. Obviously, this is not a sure thing, as Dave Roberts mentioned, but it is definitely a story worth keeping an eye on over the last few weeks of September to see if Ohtani is tracking to pitch come October.
