Shohei Ohtani's pitching return could transform Dodgers' bullpen into the envy of MLB

Dave Roberts hinted that Shohei Ohtani's 30-pitch live session against Will Smith on Saturday could be his last step before returning to the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers. LA doesn't yet have a starter set for their August 30 finale against the Detroit Tigers, so Ohtani could open the game ahead of Eric Lauer as LA begins the long process of stretching him back out again.

The Dodgers have been here before. Last year, Ohtani started at one inning in mid-June before only getting to six once, in his last regular season start. It had to be a longer process then, when he was coming off of multiple surgeries, but the Dodgers are confident he'll be ready for to start during the postseason with far less time to ramp back up this year.

A Dodgers postseason rotation with Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Tarik Skubal is about as good as it gets. Roki Sasaki was always likely to be pushed to the bullpen, but where does that leave Tyler Glasnow, who's scheduled to return on Tuesday? Back to the bullpen he goes.

This would render almost all of the Dodgers' bullpen problems as of late (and during the 2025 postseason) moot.

Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki being pushed to Dodgers' postseason bullpen is exactly what they need

Eric Lauer has already been shifted to the bullpen, and Justin Wrobleski is set to shift into a relief role when he returns from the IL. Former top prospect Gavin Stone is also working through a rehab assignment in Triple-A and could factor into late-season and postseason plans. Glasnow, Sasaki, Lauer, Wrobleski, and Stone in the bullpen would give the Dodgers a relief corps mostly made up of starters.

If that becomes the case, the Dodgers could even decline to carry Edwin Díaz on their postseason roster, depending on how drastic their decision-making has to get when he returns from his IL stint. There are no promises that Sasaki will go right back to his ways as the Dodgers' almost untouchable postseason closer, but even he looks like a better bet than Díaz right now.

Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, and Jack Dreyer could round out the postseason "bullpen," but they may see very few innings if the Dodgers have five other ringers to turn to.

Despite their 5-10 start to the month, the Dodgers have since won six straight and, like clockwork, everyone they need for the postseason is making their way back. If the offense continues clicking, it's (once again) very hard to see how this team doesn't make it back to the World Series.

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