Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is set for Thursday, March 27, as teams wrap up spring training to start the 2025 season. But before that, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will be facing off in the 2025 Tokyo Series.
While Shohei Ohtani mashed his way to an NL MVP and a World Series title last year, the two-way star hasn’t pitched since the 2023 season, due to a shoulder injury.
Let’s check on the latest with Ohtani’s injury, and see when he might pitch for the Dodgers.
When will Shohei Ohtani pitch?
Although Ohtani won’t be ready to pitch in time for the Tokyo Series, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in February that he will likely be ready by sometime in May.
“It might be earlier,” Roberts said via MLB.com, “But I think that the first thing I said earlier this offseason was it wasn’t going to be in the Japan Series. … Once he gets to spring training and we see where the throwing program is, I think we’ll just go from there.”
But in mid-March, the Dodgers paused Ohtani’s throwing progression so that he can get ready to be Los Angeles’ designated hitter this season. Roberts stated that Ohtani is still throwing but he’s unsure about his exact timeline.
“He’s been throwing,” Roberts said on March 13 via Dodgers Nation. “He hasn’t stopped throwing. But I don’t know when he’s going to throw his next bullpen. “He understood the process. He’s ramped up with the hitting and to let that (pitching) part of the process slow down and not intensify both things, he was on board.”
The May estimate that Roberts initially had is more up in the air, per the latest reporting.
Shohei Ohtani Tommy John surgery recovery timeline
Ohtani hasn’t pitched for the Dodgers since he arrived there last season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2023, when he was still with the Angels. He suffered a UCL tear in his right elbow in late August 2023.
On average, Tommy John surgery recovery takes around 12 months. He told The Athletic in May 2024 that he was throwing baseballs from 60 feet, and reaching 80 miles per hour on his pitches.
“Usually anywhere from 60-70 pitches, in that distance,” Ohtani said via The Athletic. “Just continuing to increase the distance and the pitches, and just seeing where that goes. I’m not quite sure how far I’m going to go out there, but that’s the progression.”
Despite the seemingly positive development, it was expected that Ohtani wouldn’t pitch until at least 2025.
In November 2024, he underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum he suffered on his left shoulder, his non-throwing arm. The injury was sustained during Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees, on an attempted steal of second base.
Shohei Ohtani pitching stats
Before sustaining his elbow injury, Ohtani had a 38-19 record on the mound, with a 3.01 ERA.
| Season | Team | GS | W | L | W-L% | ERA |
| 2018 | LAA | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 | 3.31 |
| 2020 | LAA | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37.8 |
| 2021 | LAA | 23 | 9 | 2 | 0.818 | 3.18 |
| 2022 | LAA | 28 | 15 | 9 | 0.625 | 2.33 |
| 2023 | LAA | 23 | 10 | 5 | 0.667 | 3.14 |
