Dodgers Expect Ohtani to Pitch in 2027 Without Surgery

The Los Angeles Dodgers expect Shohei Ohtani to return as a two-way player in 2027 after doctors recommended rest rather than surgery for his left knee, right arm and other ailments, team president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. The organization plans to develop a pitching strategy that allows Ohtani to contribute on the mound without compromising his offense.

Friedman said Ohtani's recovery is expected to leave his 2027 season unaffected. The Dodgers have not finalized how they will manage his workload, including when he begins pitching or how frequently he receives additional rest.

“I fully expect him to pitch next year,” Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, said.

Ohtani's health and workload became major concerns during the second half of the season. Persistent pain in his left knee and right biceps prevented him from pitching after July 3, despite a strong start to the year.

Friedman acknowledged that the organization has no established model for managing Ohtani's unusual responsibilities. The Dodgers must balance his value as a pitcher with the need to preserve his offensive production throughout a long season.

“This is unprecedented, what he’s doing,” Friedman said. “So obviously for us it’s unprecedented. We don’t have any experience to draw from. We can’t go look at how other situations have played out to try to learn from the good and the bad.

We have to all just figure it out together. And I’m not only expecting him to pitch; we’re excited about him pitching. So now it’s about: How do we do that?

How do we manage through a long season and have him at his best going into October? That’s a challenge.”

Ohtani finished his first 14 pitching starts with an 8-2 record and a 1.79 ERA, striking out 95 batters and walking 26 across 85⅔ innings. His physical discomfort later affected his batting mechanics, while the timing of his injured-list placement limited his opportunity to regain his rhythm before the postseason.

As of Aug. 18, Ohtani was batting .294 with a .390 on-base percentage and a .558 slugging percentage, alongside 30 home runs and seven stolen bases. However, his final 70 regular-season at-bats produced 11 hits and 29 strikeouts.

His struggles continued into the postseason, when he went 4-for-22 without an extra-base hit across his first seven games. Ohtani hit a home run in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, his first since Aug. 18, but the Dodgers were ultimately swept by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Asked whether the Dodgers could have handled Ohtani's two-way responsibilities differently, Friedman said the injuries had complicated the situation even while Ohtani remained one of the league's leading players.

“I don’t know the answer to that. It’s one of those things that -- the injuries started in early July. Through mid-August, he was still I think the consensus MVP,” Friedman said.

Ohtani addressed his pitching difficulties after the Dodgers' season-ending 6-4 loss on Oct. 15. He acknowledged that he was dissatisfied with his performance on the mound and said he needed to reassess his approach before the next season.

“I haven’t been able to really come to grips with what I’ve learned overall this season,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “It’s something that I’m going to go back to the drawing board in terms of treatment, training programs and see what I can come up with for next season.”

The season marked Ohtani's first attempt at a full-time two-way role in three years. Friedman also recognized that Ohtani's offensive decline contributed to the Dodgers' early postseason exit, although the team's broader hitting struggles were substantial.

The Dodgers recorded a .590 OPS during the postseason and went 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position in the National League Championship Series. The team's overall offensive production, rather than Ohtani's performance alone, was a factor in its elimination.

Friedman said the Dodgers would retain Dave Roberts' coaching staff. He also described the organization's relationship with owner Mark Walter as unchanged, following discussions after the team's elimination.

“We talked to Mark after we lost,” Friedman said, “and he was obviously really disappointed. But so much of his focus was on, ‘OK, what can we do? What are our plans?’”

Beyond Ohtani's workload, the Dodgers face decisions about upcoming free agents, including pitcher Tarik Skubal, whom they acquired before the trade deadline, and relievers Alex Vesia and Evan Phillips. The organization is also considering ways to add younger players to a position-player group described as the oldest in baseball.

Potential adjustments to Ohtani's schedule include delaying his pitching debut, adding more rest days between appearances or combining both approaches. The organization must also determine how responsibilities and communication about physical problems will be handled throughout the season.

Friedman emphasized that the Dodgers intend to approach the arrangement carefully because of Ohtani's value as a pitcher. The team has yet to establish a final plan for balancing his pitching workload with his offensive responsibilities in 2027.

“I think we’re just going to have to be very deliberate about it on all sides,” Friedman said of communication between Ohtani and the organization, “because the value of it is incredible, and therefore it’s incumbent upon all of us to figure out the best way to do it.”