Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Announces Shohei Ohtani News Before Padres Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been hammered by injuries to their pitching staff. Among others, starting pitchers Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki are on the injured list.
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Last week, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told Jon Heyman of the New York Post that the team is not currently planning to deal for a pitcher ahead of the MLB trade deadline. One of the biggest reasons for taking this approach is the looming return to pitching for two-way star Shohei Ohtani.
Undergoing right elbow surgery in 2023, Ohtani has not pitched in a game since he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17).Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
For his MLB career, Ohtani has posted a 3.01 ERA with 608 strikeouts in 481.2 innings as a pitcher. If he can come anywhere close to this production, Los Angeles will have itself another frontline starter who would supplant the need for a trade deadline move.
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On Tuesday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced some more encouraging news, revealing there is a non-zero chance Ohtani pitches before the All-Star break.
“Dave Roberts said the chances are ‘north of zero’ that Shohei Ohtani could be back sooner than the post-All-Star break timeline originally anticipate,” Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic wrote on X. “Both Roberts and Mark Prior noted how good Ohtani looked over his three simulated innings today.”
This comes after Gomes told Heyman of Ohtani, “There’s no reason to think he’s not coming back.”
Now, it seems that return could be even closer than initially anticipated. This would be a huge boost for Los Angeles as it attempts to navigate significant injury misfortune, most notably to the pitching staff.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.