The fantasy of Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound in the 2024 World Series will remain a fantasy, if the Los Angeles Dodgers are to be believed.
Speaking at World Series media day, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed there is “no possibility” of Ohtani pitching against the New York Yankees over the next week and a half, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
It’s not the first time Roberts has shot down the possibility of Ohtani pitching in this year’s playoffs. Ohtani was expected to only appear as a hitter in 2024 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn UCL last season, but as the year stretched on, he appeared to make enough progress to at least make it a question.
Ohtani was throwing from 60 feet in May and pitching off a mound in August. Roberts himself threw gasoline on the speculation in September when he said he was “not going to close the door 100%” on the idea of Ohtani pitching in the postseason. With the amount of injuries to the Dodgers’ rotation, it was a fun idea.
There is some haze to Ohtani’s timetable because he underwent what is called an internal brace surgery to repair his UCL, rather than the traditional Tommy John surgery. That procedure has seem some interesting recovery times in the NFL, most notably when Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers returned to the field five months after tearing his Achilles tendon.
A second Tommy John surgery usually requires a recovery time of well more than a year (Ohtani’s teammate Walker Buehler will be pitching in the World Series after sitting out from June 2022 to May 2024), but the internal brace could have theoretically helped.
However, Ohtani’s surgeon Neal ElAttrache poured cold water on the idea a month ago, via the Los Angeles Times:
“It’s not really a good idea for anyone coming back from elbow or shoulder surgery to make their return to competition in the postseason,” the surgeon said. “There are no minor-league games to get rehab starts for return to competition this time of year, so their first competition would be in postseason high-stress conditions.
“Not a good idea for the player or the team.”
ElAttrache urged a gradual increase in velocity for Ohtani, saying he would prefer Ohtani, who usually throws in the high 90s, to keep his pitch speed under 90 mph for the moment.
Dodgers president Andrew Friedman was similarly dismissive.
Given that the Dodgers signed Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract, it’s not a surprise they’re going to be careful with his health, even with a World Series on the line. Perhaps it’s all a smokescreen and the Dodgers are preparing to shock the Yankees and the baseball world in Game 7, but the simpler explanation is the team is following the instructions of its star player’s surgeon.
