LOS ANGELES — We now have some clarity on Shohei Ohtani's offseason plans, and what Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expects from the two-way superstar going forward.
After the Dodgers were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, Ohtani told reporters he wasn't sure if he would need surgery to address his left knee and right bicep injuries that bogged him down at the plate and took him off the mound entirely. Friedman confirmed Wednesday that surgery is "not on the table" after Ohtani was assessed by a doctor, and that he fully expects Ohtani to pitch in 2027.
As for whether he thinks he'll pitch a full season at 32 years old (he'll turn 33 on July 5), that might be a different
story.
"We'll have to figure it out," Friedman said at the Dodgers' end of season press conference. "This is unprecedented what he's doing; we don't have any experience to draw from. ... And not only am I expecting him to pitch, I'm excited about him pitching. So now it's about how do we do that? How do we manage through a long season and have him at his best going into October?
"That's a challenge, and we've got to figure it out together."
Ohtani was one of several Dodgers who struggled down the stretch. He didn't fare much better at the plate as he went homerless for nearly the final three months from Aug. 18 until Game 4 of the NLCS on Oct. 15. In his final 18 games played of the regular season, Ohtani averaged just .157 with a .214 slugging percentage. Those numbers improved only slightly in the postseason as he hit 5-for-26 with a .630 OPS.
Friedman said Ohtani should fully recover with rest and be good to go by spring training.
He added that while they haven't had conversations about what next season looks like on the mound yet, he's already trying to think of different ways to manage the four-time MVP and preserve his rare talent on both sides of the ball for as long as possible. Those talks will likely also continue to evolve as the season goes on.
"Us continuing to put our heads together and understand where things are at any given time I think will just increase our chances of him doing what is incredibly unprecedented," Friedman said. "And the toll that it takes for him to be able to do it, impact our team in the regular season to accomplish our regular season goal and then be in a good position going into October."
The Dodgers just don't know exactly what that will look like as of right now.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers say Shohei Ohtani won’t need surgery and expect him to pitch 2027
