Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is expected to take the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers this week following Japan’s early exit from the World Baseball Classic. Manager Dave Roberts says Ohtani could pitch three to four innings in his first appearance since returning to camp.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have only seen Shohei Ohtani in action once during spring training as they prepare for the upcoming regular season.

The two-way superstar recorded one hit in three plate appearances during his sole spring training game before departing to represent Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Ohtani was unable to pitch for his national team, which suffered an unexpected quarterfinal defeat to Venezuela on Saturday, ending their tournament run sooner than anticipated.

With Ohtani returning to the Dodgers camp ahead of schedule, manager Dave Roberts indicated there’s a good possibility the star player will take the mound either this week or in the early days of next week.

“Last year, we had the plan to start from one inning to keep him with us active and playing. I think this year, we’re certainly north of that,” Roberts said. “I don’t see how we won’t be able to get three or four innings from him in a Major League game. So that’s certainly a better jumping-off point than last year. We’ll see how it goes.”

During his time with Team Japan, Ohtani completed a four-inning simulated game in Miami last week. Roberts explained that since Ohtani isn’t beginning his preparation from zero, the organization feels confident about including him in their starting rotation when the regular season begins.

In 2025, Ohtani took the mound for 14 regular-season games and four playoff contests for the Dodgers. His regular-season performance included 62 strikeouts and a 2.87 earned run average across 47 innings, while his postseason statistics showed a 2-1 win-loss record with a 4.43 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 20 1/3 innings. The previous season in 2024, Ohtani was sidelined from pitching duties for the Dodgers following surgical repair of an injured ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

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