Shohei Ohtani has been placing collectively an MVP season on the plate and on the bases currently. Thursday’s epic recreation noticed him go 6-6 with three homers, 10 runs batted in and two steals as he completed constructing the 50-50 membership for himself.
He has executed that whereas additionally rehabbing from final yr’s Tommy John surgical procedure on the facet and has made sufficient progress that supervisor Dave Roberts just lately left the door open to Ohtani taking the mound within the playoffs. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman pushed again on that chance yesterday, telling Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register that Ohtani is “not likely an possibility.”
Ohtani has just lately thrown six bullpen classes, however Friedman notes {that a} pitcher would usually get to that time in late January whereas getting ready for a traditional season. In different phrases, nonetheless a few months away from common season begins. Friedman goes on to level out that following the conventional timeline would have Ohtani doing dwell bullpens in mid to late October.
Ohtani and the workforce are quickly having a gathering about subsequent steps, nevertheless it’s a gathering that has been deliberate for months and isn’t about postseason pitching.
“We aren’t even excited about that proper now,” Friedman mentioned. “Once more, that is like January for him. He’s simply barely a yr out from Tommy John.”
The assembly is extra about whether or not to proceed to dwell BPs in October or put his pitching on pause in the course of the postseason, with a resumption in November.
“The entire assembly is about how we deal with his rehab to have him in the most effective place to be able to go in ’25 whereas additionally taking the least quantity of toll on him in ’24 as a result of he may have an vital job in October as it’s,” Friedman mentioned. “Okay – for those who droop it then and do it in November, is that sufficient time or do you ramp him up and have him a bit of bit later (at the beginning of subsequent season)? That’s the stuff we’ve to get into.”
At this level, it’s typically greatest to not doubt Ohtani, who has a powerful tendency to silence naysayers. However he’s human, regardless of some proof on the contrary, and the timelines for returning to the mound this yr are formidable. It was September 19 of final yr that he went below the knife, nearly precisely a yr in the past. If usually takes 14 months or longer to totally come again even when there are not any setbacks, so returning within the subsequent month could be on the quick facet.
That is additionally the second Tommy John of Othani’s profession, as he additionally underwent the process in October of 2018. He didn’t pitch in any respect in 2019 after which solely made two temporary appearances within the shortened 2020 season. Getting back from the second such operation is usually more difficult than doing it the primary time, which ought to give Ohtani and the Dodgers further incentive to play issues cautious.
The thought of Ohtani coming again might have been further tantalizing for some followers due to the continuing damage troubles for Dodger starters. Final yr’s membership gained 100 video games, nevertheless it limped into the playoffs with an injury-ravaged rotation consisting of Bobby Miller, Lance Lynn and Clayton Kershaw, the latter of whom was clearly battling via shoulder issues. The Diamondbacks laid waste to the Dodgers and swept them out of the playoffs.
This yr, the Dodgers have misplaced Emmet Sheehan, River Ryan and Dustin May to season-ending surgical procedures. Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone are each on the IL with arm issues and are unlikely to make it again in October. Tony Gonsolin and Kershaw are additionally on the IL however appear to have some probability of being components within the playoffs. Gonsolin is at present rehabbing from his personal 2023 Tommy John surgical procedure, whereas Kershaw is attempting to work via a bone spur in his left large toe.
That leaves the Dodgers at present with Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Landon Knack and Walker Buehler as their rotation at this second. Flaherty has been nice this season however had some again issues with the Tigers earlier within the yr, sufficient to reportedly scuttle a deal to the Yankees earlier than the Dodgers swooped in. Yamamoto missed over three months as a consequence of a rotator cuff pressure and isn’t absolutely stretched out but. He made simply two rehab appearances earlier than being activated and has since made two main league begins of 4 innings every. The membership can also be nonetheless planning to offer him greater than 4 days of relaxation between every outing, as they’ve executed all yr. Knack has good outcomes up to now however simply 61 big-league innings below his belt. Buehler has a 5.54 ERA on the marketing campaign.
The thought of Ohtani charging over the horizon on his steed to save lots of the day would clearly be thrilling however maybe an excessive amount of to ask for. Even a aid function would have attraction, bringing again reminiscences of Ohtani placing out Mike Trout to shut out the 2023 World Baseball Basic. Maybe there’s some state of affairs the place Ohtani, Friedman, Roberts and different workers members get collectively and the plans change as Ohtani supersedes expectations as soon as once more, nevertheless it’s notable that the membership’s chief baseball determination maker is throwing chilly water on the concept.
