Shohei Ohtani Not Expected to Pitch in Postseason, Says Dodgers GM
Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes confirmed the inevitable on Wednesday afternoon.
Shohei Ohtani will not pitch in the postseason.
“I think it’s no different than before,” Gomes said. “We don’t anticipate him pitching in the postseason.”
While his return to the mound would have added another incredible chapter to a storybook season, the Dodgers and Ohtani aren’t going to take that chance.
There was speculation that Ohtani could pull off the unthinkable back in mid-September when manager Dave Roberts hinted at the two-way star’s return to the mound.
“I think that you should always leave some margin, a crack in the door for any possibility,” Roberts said on SiriusXM MLB Network Radio. “If things line up and there’s a need, and the game, [Ohtani’s] body, everything is telling us that it makes sense in that situation, great. It would be storybook.”
Roberts was asked to expand and clarify his answer shortly after.
“The question I was asked was, ‘Is it a possibility?’ Anything is possible,” Roberts expanded on his earlier comments. “We’ve still got a lot of work to get to October and through October. I hope that’s on his mind as far as motivation for his rehab. But the odds of it coming to pass are very slim. But they’re not zero. That’s my only thing.”
The Dodgers reportedly kept the door open for Ohtani as long as they could. It just doesn’t make sense for either the Dodgers or Ohtani to try and push his rehab this far ahead of schedule.
Ohtani is coming off one of the best offensive seasons in baseball history. He became the first player to hit at least 50 home runs and steal at least 50 bases in a single season and set numerous franchise and league-wide records.
He also did that while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery as the Dodgers’ full-time designated hitter.
After six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels without a playoff appearance, Ohtani is set to make his postseason debut in Game 1 of the NLDS. The Dodgers will take on the winner of the current best-of-three Wild Card series between the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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