LOS ANGELES — Wondering when Shohei Ohtani might pitch for the Dodgers has been an ongoing question dating back to last postseason. Last year, the two-way star wasn’t really an option considering he hadn’t really progressed much at all in his rehab from 2023 elbow surgery. This year is a different story.
Ohtani has been pitching regularly since June, and pitched six scoreless innings on week ago Tuesday. Thus far every one of his major league pitching outings have been starts. Dodgers manager Dave
Roberts on Monday said that if the wild card series with the Reds goes the distance, then Ohtani would likely start Game 3.
But that doesn’t stop questions from getting asked, like on Tuesday when Roberts was asked if Ohtani might be used in relief during this series.
“I don’t think so,” Roberts said after an extremely long pause. “Never say never, but I guess anything possible.”
The Dodgers also have two other starting pitchers active in the bullpen this series in Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan. Each pitched abbreviated outings over the weekend in Seattle, with Sheehan tossing one inning on Friday and Glasnow three innings on Saturday.
Roberts said he probably had three or four pitchers he feels comfortable in asking to close out a game. Later when asked if Glasnow could potentially close.
“He’s ready for whatever we ask of him. It’s high-octane stuff,” Roberts said of Glasnow. “If we deploy him and — inning withstanding — if he’s throwing well, I see no reason why he wouldn’t continue.”
Dodgers relievers had a 5.26 ERA, 12.9-percent walk rate, and 12 home runs allowed in September.
“Bullpen pieces are volatile. You see it year to year, but you also see it week to week, or in a two-week span. All it needs is a little something to ignite it, or spark it,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “We still have a lot of confidence in those arms. Now it’s about figuring out the right game opportunities or situations to get them in, and kind of keep building on that.”
