PHILADELPHIA — The Los Angeles Dodgers are poised to remove some of the guardrails surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s usage as a pitcher. The time to rehab from his second major elbow surgery is over.
“I just think he’s a normal starting pitcher now,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “Kind of eased him along. Just a normal starting pitcher.”
A normal starting pitcher who, before taking the mound for the first time in the postseason in Game 1 on Saturday night, will step into the batter’s box as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez. It’s an unprecedented moment in the modern history of the sport, and it’s finally happening. Ohtani wanted to prepare himself during Friday night’s workout, taking the tarp-covered mound and pantomiming his delivery to get the proper visual.
“I’m sure I’ll be nervous at times,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “But more than that, I’m just really grateful that I get to play baseball at this time of the year. And just being healthy is really important to me, so I’m just grateful for that.”
Ohtani won’t have any restrictions when he’s on the mound for the start of the National League Division Series. He’s already reached the six-inning threshold and thrown as many as 91 pitches in an outing this season. The trepidation that led to Ohtani’s early exit from his start against these same Phillies last month — when Ohtani was removed from a no-hitter after five innings in an eventual loss — is not part of the calculus this time.
Shohei Ohtani has enjoyed his share of postseason thrills, but this marks the first time he’ll take the mound in the playoffs. (Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
If Ohtani is to be treated as a normal starter, however, could that mean changes in how the Dodgers deploy him?
“The principle I follow is, hitting-wise, pitching-wise, it’s up to the coaching staff to make the determination when to pitch,” Ohtani said. “My intention as a starting pitcher is to go five, six innings. And if the coaching staff thinks that I’ll be somewhat able to be utilized in different situations, then I’ll be ready for that.”
The Dodgers’ rotation appears set for this series. Ohtani has only pitched on fewer than five days’ rest one time in the major leagues, when rain shortened a start at Fenway Park in April 2023, and he threw seven scoreless innings four days later against the Kansas City Royals.
The only way Ohtani would be able to stay on his normal schedule and pitch twice in the series is if he starts Games 1 and 5, the most likely alignment. The Dodgers even lined up Ohtani for the last series and this one, knowing there would be a built-in day off the day after his pitching start, allowing him more time to recover.
But could circumstances lead to the Dodgers using Ohtani sooner?
“I don’t see him going on short rest or pitching out of the pen,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Could change as the series evolves. But I think right now it’s just kind of lock in on Game 1 and see where he’s at after that game.”
It’s October. Crazier things have happened. The downside risk with Ohtani, however, is much bigger.
“He’s two players in one,” Roberts explained when he pulled Ohtani from that electric September start against the Phillies. “So for me to do something and deviate, and if something happens, then we lose two players.”
If the Dodgers are going to use any potential starter in relief, it’s likely Tyler Glasnow, who will be in the bullpen as a contingency for Game 1 and is expected to start a potential Game 4 at Dodger Stadium behind Game 2 and 3 starters Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers will lean on them in their starts, but aren’t expected to have any of them kick into relief unless necessary. The temptation’s there.
“I think it’s easy to say that they’re our most talented arms on the staff,” Roberts said. “So obviously with that, you want them throwing the majority of the innings, pitches.”
The Dodgers’ starting pitching is the clearest-cut area of strength for this team, and they’re already taking from it to try to address their lagging bullpen with Emmet Sheehan, Roki Sasaki and even Clayton Kershaw playing prominent relief roles.
Friday marked one month since Will Smith fractured his right hand, and the All-Star catcher commemorated the date by stepping into the batter’s box for simulated at-bats against Kirby Yates. Save for the one game he played on Sept. 9, it’s the closest Smith has gotten to real action. The Dodgers felt comfortable enough with that knowledge to carry him on their Wild Card Series roster anyway. He didn’t take an at-bat because the series was never close enough to warrant it.
Still, it’s unclear what role he will play against the Phillies. Smith hasn’t caught nine full innings since that game. While swinging and throwing give his hand equal discomfort, he’d have to throw much more than he’d have to swing over the course of a game.
Even if Smith passes all his tests, expect the Dodgers to carry three catchers, Roberts said. Smith’s availability could make Dalton Rushing a left-handed hitting pinch hit option, if necessary.
“He will be available to catch,” Roberts said. “Just trying to be mindful (that he hasn’t) caught in a long time and then kind of looking at the series and the capacity he can take on. So those are things that are kind of going through our heads right now.”
As he and his new bullpen mates huddled at the visiting bullpen Friday, only one ditched sleeves. Kershaw may be in slightly new surroundings, but some things don’t change. He will be back on the Dodgers’ postseason roster for this NLDS, though he will largely be available as a left-handed reliever. One could imagine that, in a scenario where Glasnow is deployed in Game 1 for anything other than a short burst, Kershaw could be available for a potential Game 4.
This is new, but it’s not. Kershaw saw the writing on the wall over the season’s final week and volunteered himself to be available in relief. He pitched a scoreless ninth in a tie game on Sept. 24, his first relief appearance since Game 5 of the 2019 NLDS.
Kershaw will likely be part of a crowded group of southpaws down in the bullpen. The Dodgers carried four left-handed relievers for their Wild Card Series against the Cincinnati Reds, despite the opponent having just three lefty hitters on its roster. If there are no other changes, Kershaw could make five. Anthony Banda, who Roberts called “very important” to their matchup against the Phillies when they squared off last month, could make six. For what it’s worth, the Dodgers have room for two more pitchers on their roster if they want to clear off a pair of position players for this round.
The onslaught of lefties, in many ways, makes more sense against these Phillies. Yes, their two best hitters and power threats in Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hit left-handed (both handle lefties well, particularly Schwarber, as The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes wrote this week). Philadelphia also has a trio of lefty hitters in Brandon Marsh, Max Kepler and Bryson Stott who haven’t been nearly as effective against lefties (a .589 OPS combined this season).
The idea of carrying that many left-handers wouldn’t just be to get those guys out of the game or to neutralize a Schwarber or Harper. It’s about minimizing looks, perhaps opening themselves up to having each lefty face a specific batter once or twice, max, in this series.
“I do think that the ability to kind of counter something with the right-handed starter, with guys on the bench (is smart),” Roberts said. “So, yeah, the construction of their lineup, their roster, it certainly lends itself more to left-handed pitching.”
(Top photo of Shohei Ohtani from Sept. 16: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)