Ohtani expected to pitch off mound this week for Dodgers

The Dodgers said Shohei Ohtani was expected to pitch off a mound later this week, a step that moved his rehabilitation beyond flat-ground throwing and into a more game-like test of his arm. For Los Angeles, the session was a checkpoint, not a finish line, because Ohtani still had to show that his mechanics, arm strength and recovery could hold up before he was truly back as a two-way player.

Ohtani underwent elbow surgery in September 2023, and doctors had expected him to hit in 2024 and return to pitching in 2025. The procedure was done with “a heavy emphasis on the big picture” of his career, a caution that has shaped every stage of his comeback. In February 2025, Dave Roberts said Ohtani was likely to resume pitching in Major League games sometime in May, underscoring that the Dodgers had been mapping a step-by-step path back to the mound.

That measured approach matters because Ohtani already anchors the Dodgers as a middle-of-the-order bat. If he can eventually handle pitching again, Los Angeles gains the chance to add rotation value without taking away his offense, a combination that changes roster construction, matchup planning and postseason depth. The organization still had not put a timetable on his return to the rotation, which left every throwing milestone important but not definitive.

A mound session is meaningful because it is the first real test beyond flat-ground work, but it does not equal live game action. It gives the Dodgers a chance to judge how Ohtani’s delivery looks under a more competitive workload and how his body responds afterward. That is the central tension around his return: the club wants the upside of a two-way superstar, but it has to protect the arm that makes that possibility rare.

Ohtani’s first Dodgers pitching appearance came on June 16, 2025, against the San Diego Padres, when he threw 28 pitches, 16 for strikes, and reached 100.2 mph. His fastest pitch of that outing, 101.7 mph, showed how much velocity remains in the arm, while also explaining why every additional step is monitored so closely. The mound work later this week was another milestone in that process, but the Dodgers still had several hurdles left before Ohtani could be considered fully restored as a two-way player.