Can we really see pitcher Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers) this year, instead of next year? Former Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon, who helped Ohtani to fully display his "derivatives," talked about the possibility of having him take the mound in the postseason.
Ohtani, who became a free agent before this season and moved to the Dodgers, will not take the mound this year as usual. After undergoing Tommy John surgery last fall, he plans to focus on rehabilitation this year. The rehabilitation process is in progress sequentially. He threw 25 pitches while pitching in the bullpen on the 15th, recording a maximum of 150km/h. The number of pitches and the speed of pitches were also the highest after the surgery.
Initially, the timing of his return was believed to be next year. Some predict that he will return as a starting pitcher in his home country as he is hosting the World Tour Series in Tokyo, Japan. Recently, however, the possibility for a pitcher to return to the mound within this year has risen. While his rehabilitation is going smoothly, his team is in danger.
The Dodgers invested heavily in pitching staff ahead of this season, but the situation on the mound is nearing its worst recently. Tyler Glasnow, who was given a $135 million contract extension after the trade, failed to recover from his injury, which prevented him from returning within the season. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who received the highest amount of $325 million in pitching history, was sidelined for more than two months due to his injury, only to return this month.
Ace Clayton Kershaw returned after recovering from shoulder surgery, but was put on the injured list again. After two years of rehabilitation, Walker Buehler failed to display as much power as before, but Bobby Miller became the "homer manufacturer." The bullpen is also in a bad situation. Major resources such as closer Evan Phillips are on shaky ground. The team received starting pitcher Jack Flaherty and closing pitcher Michael Kopec in the summer trade market, but there are still too many holes left.
Of course, the Dodgers didn't consider Ohtani to take the mound as a strong candidate. "If Otani's physical condition, game situation, necessity of taking the mound and his intention match up, a story could be made," manager Dave Roberts said. "Chances are very low. However, it is not a zero." He added, "I hope this will be a good motivation for Ohtani who is in rehabilitation training."
First of all, these discussions were not made seriously. "There have been few discussions with the coaches about him yet. First of all, I barely talked to the pitching coach this season (because I haven't pitched yet). We only talked about rehabilitation," Ohtani said. "I will have a meeting when I come back to LA, and I think I will decide on my future schedule including the off-season then." When asked by reporters whether he will play in the post-season, Ohtani smiled and said, "I don't know." 안전놀이터