LOS ANGELES, June 25, 2025 — The Los Angeles Dodgers are treading carefully as they reintroduce Shohei Ohtani to his dual role as elite hitter and starting pitcher. Following his long-awaited mound return on June 16 — marking his first appearance as a Dodger pitcher since surgery — the team’s top brass, including GM Brandon Gomes, have confirmed a conservative, game-by-game approach to his workload management .
“It’s very much taking it how he feels coming out of every outing… we can make our decision from that point,” Gomes told MLB Now on June
He emphasized, “Any inning he can give us is a positive,” noting Ohtani’s unique value as both a dominant arm and potent bat. Gomes dismissed talk of using Ohtani as a reliever, saying, “We haven’t really talked about [relieving] at all. Shohei’s one of the best starters in the game… so we’ll keep going on that front”
For his debut on June 16 vs. the Padres, Ohtani threw a fastball clocked at 100 mph in a one-inning opener — surrendering one run on two hits — then stepped to the plate as the DH, lining an RBI double in the third, part of LA’s 6–3 win
The Dodgers used him again in a similar opener role, gradually stretching his pitch counts. This method aligns with Ohtani’s own expectations: “…the expectation is for me to go once a week. Hopefully to be able to go a little longer every time I’m out there,” he said
Critics like former MLB outfielder Ryan Spilborghs voice concern that balancing both hitting and pitching could hurt Ohtani’s offensive numbers. “Last year, Ohtani had a 1.036 OPS; this year he has a 1.073… Those numbers are only going to go down once he starts pitching,” Spilborghs told MLB Network Radio. He adds that limiting Ohtani to around 10 starts might protect him from soft tissue injuries like oblique strains.
Still, Dodgers management appears confident in letting Ohtani run with it, particularly with injuries sideling several starters, including Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell.
Elite bat remains potent: Through June, Ohtani’s bats have produced a dazzling .290 AVG, 25 homers, 11 steals, earning one of the highest OPS in baseball
Dodgers’ pitching depth stretched — Ohtani’s return comes as critical reinforcement for a rotation hampered by injuries and a busy schedule.
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Workload strategy remains flexible — with GM Gomes committing to a dynamic, performance-based model rather than a fixed number of starts.