Shohei Ohtani Reveals Why He Decided to Pause Throwing Progression for Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers have decided to slow-play Shohei Ohtani’s throwing program for the time being.

Ohtani last threw a bullpen on Feb. 25, and the Dodgers don’t currently know when he’ll throw his next one.

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“We just felt that to intensify the bullpens alongside of the intensity of the games (as DH) wasn’t smart, so we just wanted to kind of slow-play it,” Roberts said last week.

Roberts added that this was a decision made by both the Dodgers and Ohtani, and for the first time, Ohtani spoke about it.

“I wanted to prioritize the hitting aspect as we’re getting into the season, to get a little breather mentally and physically on the pitching side of things,” Ohtani said through his interpreter from Japan ahead of the Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs. “This is according to plan and I’m quite pleased with how things are going.”

Roberts recently provided the latest update on Ohtani, noting he still doesn’t know what his timeline to start pitching looks like.

“He’s been throwing. He hasn’t stopped throwing. But I don’t know when he’s going to throw his next bullpen,” Roberts said. “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.”

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Ohtani also didn’t want to provide a timeline to pitch, but for now, he’s continuing to ramp up as a designated hitter ahead of Opening Day.

Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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