It's now been 19, nearly 20 months since we last saw Shohei Ohtani on a major league pitcher's mound.
The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar took his offensive game to new heights in 2024, winning his third career Most Valuable Player Award purely on the merits of his bat and speed. But baseball fans were itching to see him assume his full powers again in 2025.
The highly anticipated return to pitching still has no definitive timeline, though. Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery in September of 2023, but it's tricky to rehab while also being one of the two best hitters on the planet.
Even if Ohtani returns during the regular season, which is still widely expected, putting him on the mound in the playoffs could be an unnecessary risk. In fact, it's a risk that one baseball writer believes the Dodgers won't take.
On Friday, Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz predicted that Ohtani would not pitch in the postseason this year, as part of a larger compilation of "bold predictions" from MLB.com.
"There’s a compelling argument that utilizing Ohtani, the pitcher, in the postseason represents an unnecessary risk," Mintz wrote. "Because while L.A.’s starting staff has been decimated by injuries in 2025, there remains a strong chance that the Dodgers enter October with enough healthy, competent starters."
Follow The Sporting News On WhatsApp
"So while everyone — except for opposing hitters — would love to see Ohtani on the bump in the postseason, what the people want and what’s optimal for his team might be two very different things."
The issue is that even in a world of talented pitchers, Ohtani always stood out. He finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2022. He's got a 3.01 career ERA and 11.4 K/9. Plus, we even saw that he can close out a game in the World Baseball Classic, so the Dodgers could have another option on the table.
Will LA turn down the chance to put Ohtani on the mound to make sure he stays healthy at the plate? That could be the $700 million question.
More MLB: Phillies hypothetical one-for-one swap lands Orioles 23-year-old to replace Alec Bohm