{"id":38978,"date":"2025-04-06T09:48:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T09:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38978"},"modified":"2025-04-06T09:48:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T09:48:11","slug":"dodgers-finally-reveal-plan-for-shohei-ohtanis-shocking-pitching-return-%f0%9f%94%a5%f0%9f%91%80","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38978","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers finally REVEAL PLAN for Shohei Ohtani\u2019s SHOCKING pitching return! \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udc40"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Dodgers are determined to play it very safe with Shohei Ohtani\u2019s return as a pitcher.<\/p>\n<p>During Saturday\u2019s game between the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports provided some context around how the Dodgers are approaching Ohtani\u2019s return to the mound. According to Rosenthal, the biggest factor the Dodgers care about is Ohtani\u2019s availability for the postseason.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-secondary-background-color has-background has-light-background has-xl-content-width has-sm-padding-top has-sm-padding-bottom has-lg-margin-top has-lg-margin-bottom\" data-content-name=\"mai-ad-in-single-content\" data-track-content=\"\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p>\u201cThe Dodgers are being intentionally deliberate with (Ohtani\u2019s) process coming off a second major elbow surgery,\u201d Rosenthal said. \u201cThe goal: to get Ohtani ready for the postseason.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\" data-content-name=\"Post Featured Image\" data-track-content=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/larrybrownsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shohei-ohtani-dodgers-2.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/larrybrownsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shohei-ohtani-dodgers-2-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/larrybrownsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shohei-ohtani-dodgers-2-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/larrybrownsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shohei-ohtani-dodgers-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/larrybrownsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shohei-ohtani-dodgers-2-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/larrybrownsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shohei-ohtani-dodgers-2-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/larrybrownsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shohei-ohtani-dodgers-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/larrybrownsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shohei-ohtani-dodgers-2.jpg 1600w\" alt=\"Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani on the field\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>March 20, 2024; Seoul, SOUTH KOREA; Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani reacts after playing against the San Diego Padres during a MLB regular season Seoul Series game at Gocheok Sky Dome. Photo Credit: Kim Hong-Ji\/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=spacemnkymafia&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1908622761620295955&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Flarrybrownsports.com%2Fbaseball%2Fdodgers-strategy-for-shohei-ohtanis-pitching-return-revealed%2F690715&amp;sessionId=c3a05a89376bb65148abf2345a8ebdd2a17a5bdf&amp;siteScreenName=larrybrownsport&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1908622761620295955\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>To be clear, this does not mean the Dodgers will not bring Ohtani back as a pitcher until October. It does mean the team will be very cautious in when he is brought back, and all of the focus will be on his playoff availability. That may limit how much the Dodgers use Ohtani on the mound until then.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-secondary-background-color has-background has-light-background has-xl-content-width has-sm-padding-top has-sm-padding-bottom has-lg-margin-top has-lg-margin-bottom\" data-content-name=\"mai-ad-in-single-content\" data-track-content=\"\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<article class=\"entry entry-single no-entry-link type-post category-baseball category-headlines-2 category-shohei-ohtani tag-los-angeles-dodgers tag-shohei-ohtani\" aria-label=\"Dodgers\u2019 strategy for Shohei Ohtani\u2019s pitching return revealed\">\n<div class=\"entry-wrap entry-wrap-single\">\n<div class=\"entry-content entry-content-single\">\n<p>Ohtani has begun through bullpen sessions as he works his way back from his Aug. 2023 UCL surgery. The team has not put a specific timeline on his return to game action, with manager Dave Roberts\u00a0simply saying it will be \u201ca while\u201d\u00a0before that happens.<\/p>\n<p>Until that point, Ohtani will just keep hitting. He has\u00a0already authored one dramatic moment this season, and was hitting .324 with three home runs in nine games entering play Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Dodgers are determined to play it very safe with Shohei Ohtani\u2019s return as a pitcher. During Saturday\u2019s game between the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dodgers finally REVEAL PLAN for Shohei Ohtani\u2019s SHOCKING pitching return! \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udc40 - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38978\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dodgers finally REVEAL PLAN for Shohei Ohtani\u2019s SHOCKING pitching return! \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udc40 - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Los Angeles Dodgers are determined to play it very safe with Shohei Ohtani\u2019s return as a pitcher. 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