Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani plan for 2027 seems mostly promising after injury debacle

A lot went wrong for the Los Angeles Dodgers this postseason, but the most unflattering narrative likeliest to persist is how they handled Shohei Ohtani. It seemed like no one was on the same page from the moment a knee issue sprung up in July, and the confusion lingered until the Dodgers' last stand against the Milwaukee Brewers.

To be fair, the Dodgers are mostly flying blind here. Even Ohtani's six years with the Los Angeles Angels have to be taken with a grain of salt — no one has ever said that the Angels organization under Arte Moreno handled anything particularly well.

A little bit of trial and error was to be expected, but there was a little too much error for Dodgers fans' comfort. Ohtani remained headstrong about his ability to play through injury; Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts remained eager to believe him.

A longer conversation will be had this offseason, and the Dodgers will try to perfect the formula when Ohtani comes back well-rested next season. According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Dodgers may already know where to start.

"The Dodgers have an idea. They saw their best version of Ohtani in the postseason, both as a pitcher and hitter, in 2025. They gradually built Ohtani up throughout the regular season, where he made 14 starts starting in mid-June. [...] Los Angeles will probably try to implement a similar concept next season, with Friedman hinting as much last week."

Dodgers plan to return Shohei Ohtani to a gradual build-up in pitching in 2027

Ohtani himself may not like the idea of being limited to only an inning or two for an extended period of time, but one of the Dodgers' biggest takeaways from this year could and should be that they have the right to override his wishes. He's the face of baseball, but they're still responsible for keeping him healthy, even if he insists he's fine.

The Dodgers also have no reason to rush him back to the mound or extend his starts when they have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, hopefully Tarik Skubal, and a line of former top prospects who want every rare opportunity they can get in the rotation, or at least as long relievers.

LA simply needs Ohtani more as a hitter, even if pitching is his true love. Reemphasizing hitting the way they did in 2025 is a good place to start.

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