Shohei Ohtani Rumors: MLB Executive Questions If Dodgers Free Agent Target Will Pitch Again

Everyone who has watched Shohei Ohtani play baseball knows that he is a unicorn. The two-way phenom both pitches and hits at a top-five level. This puts him atop almost every team’s free agency boards, including the Dodgers.

After undergoing his second major elbow surgery since coming over to MLB, some speculate whether or not he can continue to both pitch and hit moving forward. A National League executive had this to say to MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal about Ohtani.

“Even if he wants to pitch, who knows how much he’ll be able to,” an NL executive said. “There’s some chance he won’t get over the hump and is done pitching, whether he wants to (continue) or not. The other thing is, 30-year-old pitchers get four-, five-, six- and maybe if they’re really lucky seven-year deals. There is zero chance he’s going to be pitching as long as the likely duration of this deal.”

Ken Rosenthal – The Athletic

Comparing anyone to Ohtani right now is incredibly difficult because no one is like Ohtani. However, there are signs that point to future success for the back-to-back AL MVP.

Not many pitchers can come back from their second Tommy John surgery. If they do they tend not to be the same pitcher they were. Dodgers fans know this all too well because Walker Buehler is currently attempting to do just that.

However, some pitchers have been able to come back from the second surgery and succeed, most recently Nathan Eovaldi. Back in 2016 he went under the knife again and faced similar challenges. Since that surgery, Eovaldi has pitched to a 3.98 ERA and a 3.81 FIP. Notably, he just helped the Texas Rangers bring home their first World Series by pitching in six postseason games and only allowing 12 runs.

If, for some reason, Ohtani struggles to build his arm up to a starting pitcher’s workload, he could still be a weapon out of the bullpen. The baseball world watched in awe during the 2023 WBC as Ohtani came into the 9th inning of a one-run game to sit down Jeff McNeil, Mookie Betts, and Mike Trout.

Finally, a combination of the above scenarios could occur. Similar to John Smoltz, Ohtani could pitch for a few years and then transition to the bullpen.

This, along with Rosenthal’s piece, is purely speculative. No one knows what will happen to Ohtani because no one has seen the likes of Ohtani. All anyone can do is hope for the best, and admire what Ohtani does for baseball while he is around.

Photo Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel? Subscribe and hit the notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!