Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman recently spoke about his mindset regarding Shohei Ohtani’s process of returning to the pitcher’s mound.

The three-time MVP hasn’t thrown off the rubber in an MLB contest since August 23, 2023 — a game where he tossed a pair of strikeouts over 1.1 innings and collected a pair of RBIs in the batter’s box the same day.

Friedman knows more than anybody the kind of value that Ohtani brings solely as an MVP-caliber slugger, but the team president is looking much further than this current season.

More news: Dodgers’ Max Muncy Breaks Down His Epic Bat Flips

“Viewing it on a shorter-term horizon, it’s easy to want to be aggressive and push- I think both from him and from us,” Friedman said. “But we set out to view this as putting him in the best position to pitch over the next nine years and prioritizing longevity, and this first year back, it’s really important for that long-term aspect to not be too aggressive right now.”

Friedman also spoke on the workload that comes with this generational feat that Ohtani is attempting to return to.

“I can’t imagine how tiring it is to do both,” Friedman said. “It’s one thing when you’re in that rhythm of it and you are in shape for that. But it’s been a while since he did both, and this is pretty uncharted because we’ve never been around a guy that does both at this level. And so it’s just trying to do everything we can to build up the muscles in the right arm but also build up the endurance from a body standpoint of doing both and not fatiguing him in a way that makes his offense suffer.”

Amid the constant pitching injuries, it is easy to want to rush Ohtani back to the mound, but he will be in a Dodgers uniform for the better part of the next decade. If sacrificing more would-be regular-season appearances in his second season in L.A. means more starts for October and beyond, the Dodgers will gladly continue to appear slowplaying their MVP’s return to the hill.

More news: Dodgers’ Mookie Betts Admits He Had Doubts About Getting Back Old Form Amid Struggles

Photo Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
Have you joined our Discord Channel yet? Be a part of the ultimate Dodgers Nation community and get VIP Nation Access! Don’t miss out on real-time Dodgers talk, call-in access to Dodgers Dougout, behind-the-scenes content, exclusive interviews, giveaways, and more!