Shohei Ohtani's pitching update shouldn't get Dodgers fans excited for postseason

Shohei Ohtani is really good at baseball. In his first season with the Dodgers, he's posted the first 30-30 season of his career and broken multiple LA franchise records, making him the odds-on favorite to be the NL MVP (although Elly De La Cruz is sneakily creeping up on him). If Ohtani wins, he'd be the first primary DH to do so in history, in either league.

And that's not even the end of it! Ohtani is playing with only half of his skillset this season, kept off the mound by an elbow surgery on his pitching arm last year.

He's been rehabbing through the season and has frequently been spotted throwing on the field at Dodger Stadium since late March. Per Alden González of ESPN, he's progressed to 150 feet and 85% intensity, and he's expected to start throwing off a mound again in September.

The Dodgers' ultimate goal for Ohtani this season is to have him face hitters, whether in live BP or a short sim game. This is great news, but Dodgers fans also shouldn't get their hopes up to see him pitch in the postseason.

Shohei Ohtani is making good progress from elbow surgery but shouldn't be expected to pitch for Dodgers in the postseason

Even if Ohtani faces hitters this year, the plan is for the Dodgers to shut him down from throwing again during the postseason and have him resume in the offseason. The Dodgers have been treating Ohtani with kid gloves, and for good reason; aside from the fact that he's a $700 million investment for them, any complications with Ohtani's elbow from trying to push him too soon could keep him off the roster altogether. That's not something the Dodgers can afford during a playoff run, and could make things worse down the line.

Waiting a little longer to watch Ohtani make his pitching debut might be a little painful, but it feels safe to say the Dodgers will try to get him there for their Opening Day in Tokyo next season, if only because of how great the optics would be for him to make his Dodgers pitching debut against another Japanese-born starter (Shōta Imanaga) in their home country.

So the Dodgers should take their time here. As much as having another proven starter in the rotation would help them during the postseason, pushing Ohtani before he's completely ready is way too much of a risk.