Ohtani may not pitch at ’25 start

BASEBALL

The Dodgers said Tuesday that Shohei Ohtani may not pitch at the beginning of next season. The two-way star had Tommy John surgery in Sept. 2023 and didn’t pitch this past season, and had shoulder surgery on his left (non- throwing) shoulder on Tuesday. Jung Yeon-je/getty-AFP

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By Ronald Blum Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO — The Dodgers aren’t counting on Shohei Ohtani to pitch at the start of next season and will wait to see how his rehabilitation progresses following shoulder surgery on his non-throwing arm.

Ohtani had a procedure Tuesday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, an injury sustained while sliding during a stolen base attempt in Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 26. The two-way star did not pitch this year while recovering from elbow surgery on Sept. 19, 2023.

“We’re going to take it piece by piece and get through this and then take it in one-, two-week chunks and make sure that we’re in a really good place on each of those benchmarks and then go from there and not try to say, ‘Hey, we need to be ready by this day,’ ” general manager Brandon Gomes said Wednesday. “We’re going to let the rehab process play out.”

Ohtani and the Dodgers begin next season in Tokyo, with a two-game series against the Cubs on March 18 and 19.

After signing a record 10-year, $700 million, contract, the 30-year-old Ohtani hit .310 with 54 homers, 130 RBIs and 59 stolen bases this year, becoming the first player with at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season.

“I think it’s safe that he will not steal 50 bases next year,” Gomes said. “I have a hunch. I don’t want to count it out because I don’t ever bet against Shohei.”

Gomes said left-hander Clayton Kershaw had surgery Wednesday but he couldn’t go into details because the three-time Cy Young Award winner declined his contract option and is now a free agent.

Kershaw said Friday he was going to have operations on his left big toe and knee.

The 36-year-old didn’t make his season debut until July 25 following shoulder surgery and was limited to seven starts, going 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA.

He didn’t pitch after Aug. 30 because of the toe injury.

“He’s a high priority for us,” Gomes said of keeping Kershaw.

Gomes also said Mookie Betts is likely headed back to the infield next year and the World Series champions would like to reach a new contract with manager Dave Roberts, whose current deal runs through next season.

Ohtani was operated on by head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

“The rehab stages have different lower-intensity exercises and may just be movement,” Gomes said. “Our trainers and performance coaches and doctors are all in lockstep on that and we’ll be with him along the way.”

Ohtani has stopped his throwing program.

“He probably would have stopped throwing anyway with the offseason, but he needs to recover from this and then get that back up,” Gomes said.

The Dodgers expect to have right-handers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Tyler Glasnow ready for opening day.