The Los Angeles Dodgers have a chance of getting a major reinforcement added to their thinning pitching rotation for the 2024 MLB playoffs.
The Dodgers are keeping an eye on Shohei Ohtani’s playoff pitching prospects
The Dodgers are set to meet with 2024 National League MVP frontrunner Shohei Ohtani regarding their upcoming NL Divisional Series against either the Milwaukee Brewers or New York Mets starting on Saturday. According to USA Today’s James H. Williams, the meeting could be about his potential return to the mound:
“He’s continued to work his arm, even as recently as Wednesday when he spent 15 minutes at Dodger Stadium working on his pitching form before a big game against the San Diego Padres,” Williams reported.
Ohtani hasn’t been officially ruled out as a pitcher for the playoffs but all signs point to his return to the mound coming during the 2025 season.
“They’re supposed to have this big meeting,” Roberts said on Wednesday to reporters (h/t USA Today). “I’ll be there when it happens.”
Ohtani could add major support to the Dodgers’ pitching rotation
Ohtani, the game’s premier dual-threat superstar, has not pitched a single inning in 2024 due to elbow reconstruction surgery. He’s been missed in a talented Dodgers rotation that has been slammed with season-ending injuries to ace Tyler Glasnow and elite talents in Gavin Stone and Clayton Kershaw. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is also just five games removed from his return after sitting for nearly three months with a shoulder injury.
When last seen on the mound, Ohtani produced a strong 3.14 ERA across 23 starts. He also added 167 strikeouts and a 1.061 WHIP. The standout slugger even eclipsed 200 Ks in 2022 — his career year as a pitcher — with 219, and accompanied that with a pristine 2.33 ERA.
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Though he’s never tasted postseason action, the 30-year-old would give the Dodgers a great third option next to Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty that could withstand the attacks of the Mets’, Brewers, and potentially the formidable Philadelphia Phillies batting order led by former two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper.
Outside of Flaherty and Yamamoto, there are many question marks surrounding Dodger starters such as Walker Buehler, so if the upcoming meeting between the top brass and Ohtani provides hope for his pitching future, the Japanese sensation could be just what the doctor ordered for L.A. in their quest for a World Series crown this fall.
