Dodgers Manager: We Could See Stunning Ohtani Development in Postseason

Shohei Ohtani is in line for his 3rd MVP award this year, as he is oh-so-close to notching the first ever 50-50 season (50 home runs, 50 stolen bases) in major league history. But part of the reason that the LA Dodgers gave the Japanese superstar $700 million last winter, is that he's also a Cy Young candidate when on the mound.

Ohtani, though, has been sitting out the pitching aspect of his game in 2024 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, however, the team has not ruled out Ohtani pitching in the upcoming postseason.

Will we see Shohei Ohtani pitching in the postseason?#Dodgers | @Dodgers
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"I just think, like anything, I think that you should always leave some margin, a crack in the door, for any possibility, right? If things line up, and there's a need, and the game, his body, everything is telling us that it makes sense in that situation — great. And it would be storybook," said Roberts in an MLB Network Radio interview.

"But I think that to kind of count on that, bet on that, I think that's not a fair way to go about it. But Shohei's on board to continue his rehab process and I wouldn't put it past him to have an eye on that, and we'll just see how it plays out."

The Dodgers have had an injury-ravaged season to their starting rotation, which is currently headed up by trade deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who just returned this week after missing nearly three months to injury. Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Gavin Stone have all been out recently with shorter-term injuries.

Ohtani had the TJ-like elbow surgery (which he called different than the last Tommy John that he had several years ago) last September. So he's now a full 12 months out. And his recovery from this type of procedure has been quicker than the typical TJ recovery period.

It was back in May when Ohtani started throwing from 60 feet, and he reached 80 mph with his pitches at that time. Now, four months later, he's obviously getting much closer to a return to the mound.

Last year with the LA Angels, he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings across 23 starts.

This season, as a hitter only, he's put up numbers that are unheard of, even for him. He leads the league in the following categories: