LOS ANGELES -- Shohei Ohtani will make his long-awaited return to pitching Monday night, while serving as an opener in a matchup against the division-rival San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced Sunday night.
Ohtani, 21 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament, is expected to throw only one inning, perhaps two, in what will basically amount to a continuation of his rehab.
It was only about a week ago that Ohtani wasn't expected to rejoin the rotation until after the All-Star break, perhaps not even until August. But the process quickened over the past few days, in the wake of Ohtani throwing 44 pitches over the course of three simulated innings at Petco Park in San Diego on Tuesday afternoon.
The command Ohtani displayed in that outing, while accumulating six strikeouts against a couple of lower-level minor leaguers, played a role. But the logistics were also a major factor. Because of his two-way designation, Ohtani qualifies as an extra pitcher on the roster, giving the Dodgers the flexibility to use a piggyback starter behind him. Those simulated games also wound up being more taxing on his body, requiring Ohtani to cool off, then ramp back up to serve as the Dodgers' designated hitter.
Pitching and hitting simultaneously was ultimately seen as easier for his body to absorb, sources familiar with the team and Ohtani's thinking said.
"He's ready to pitch in a major league game," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters after his team's 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on Sunday night. "He let us know that."
Ohtani's return comes at a time when the Dodgers are extremely shorthanded; 14 pitchers make up their injured list, including four starters they were expected to count on heavily in 2025 -- Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Tony Gonsolin.
Ohtani, 30, made nine starts and posted a 3.10 ERA for the Los Angeles Angels as a rookie in 2018 before sustaining a Grade 2 sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament that ultimately required Tommy John surgery. He returned as a two-way player during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and struggled mightily with the unconventionality of it, giving up seven runs in 1⅔ innings over the course of two starts.
What followed was one of the most impressive stretches in baseball history.
Ohtani won two unanimous MVPs between surrounding a second-place finish from 2021 to 2023, during which he accumulated a major league-leading 26.1 FanGraphs wins above replacement. On offense, Ohtani slashed .277/.379/.585 with 124 home runs and 57 stolen bases. On the mound, he posted a 2.84 ERA with 542 strikeouts and 143 walks in 428⅓ innings. But Ohtani was diagnosed with another tear in his UCL after a start on Aug. 23, 2021, and underwent surgery a month later.
While only hitting in the first season of a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in 2024, Ohtani chartered the 50/50 club (home runs and stolen bases), became the first full-time designated hitter to win an MVP and won a World Series title in his first stint in the playoffs. Ohtani also navigated through the initial steps of his throwing program toward the end of that season, before essentially stopping in October.
The plan was for Ohtani to re-start his throwing progression relatively early in the ensuing winter, but then he tore a labrum in his non-throwing left shoulder during Game 2 of the World Series, necessitating surgery and prompting spring training to essentially qualify as his offseason throwing program.
Ohtani paused his progression again leading up to the Dodgers' season-opening series from Japan around the middle of March, then began the process of building back up slowly when the Dodgers returned to the United States. Ohtani faced hitters for the first time before a game at Citi Field in New York on May 25, throwing 22 pitches. He did so again at Dodger Stadium on May 31, increasing his output slightly to 29 pitches. Ten days later, he tacked on 15 more pitches and essentially deemed himself ready.
"Shohei's getting antsy," Roberts told reporters, "which is a good thing for us."