From 50/50 to the Cy Young? Shohei Ohtani and his mission with the Dodgers
Japanese star Shohei Ohtani wants to sign another historic season with the Dodgers and the Cy Young Trophy is in his sights
PHOENIX — As Shohei Ohtani progressed in his rehabilitation, his stamina increased and he began to resemble a traditional starting pitcher late last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching coach, Mark Priorassumed that their work together would be compromised. Batting always took over him, time was often limited, and the between-innings conversations Prior used to have with the rest of his team, he thought, would be unrealistic with a player who could play both ways. But Prior was soon wrong. Ohtani’s aspirations transcended his ability to react.
“Every inning I came in,” Prior said, “it was a review.”
Unless he was preparing to start the next half inning, Ohtani would enter the dugout, find an empty space near the bench and meet with his catcher and Prior to analyze what happened and plan what would come next. Ohtani wanted to know how his repertoire was working and how hitters were responding, if the game plan was working or if adjustments needed to be made. Often, those conversations occurred as Ohtani hurried to put on his hitting gear and sneak to the on-deck circle. On several occasions, he would leave a question hanging in the air and wait for a response when he returned.
“Most players take a break,” Prior said. “He starts talking non-stop about what’s going on because obviously he knows he’s short on time. I didn’t imagine it would be like that. I thought it would be more like before the game, and then he’d go play, and maybe there would be more evaluation afterward. But he was like any other pitcher: present in the moment.”
Dodgers officials who watched Ohtani combine pitching and hitting simultaneously last year found that it produced two distinct personalities. When he was just hitting, Ohtani seemed relaxed, often jovial. When he also threw, his intensity increased, it was noticeable to a certain limit. And as spring training begins, with Ohtani preparing to take on full-time pitching duties for the first time in three years, many have noted a clear intent.
“It seems like he’s on a mission when it comes to pitching,” he said. Andrew Friedmanpresident of baseball operations for the Dodgers. “Any time we’ve seen him with a mission, good things happen.”
Friedman witnessed it in 2024, the first season of Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers. A second repair to his ulnar collateral ligament had taken away his ability to throw, and Ohtani set out to become a more aggressive baserunner. He more than doubled his career-high for stolen bases, becoming the first designated hitter to win an MVP. Friedman is now among many who believe Ohtani will take a similar approach to pitching. What it produces can only be left to the imagination.
“There’s no limit to him,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “He can go out and win a Cy Young this year. I have no doubt.”
Ohtani, 31, has won four Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in the last five years, all unanimously. After six years languishing on Los Angeles Angels teams that never made the playoffs, he is now a two-time champion. A Cy Young is the only important award that eludes him. And although at the beginning of spring training he expressed that his main objective was to “be healthy all year”, his coaches and teammates have been clear that being named the best pitcher in the National League, and making it clear that he is the greatest and most unique talent in the history of the Major Leagues, is a goal.
“He wants a Cy Young,” Dodgers backup catcher Dalton Rushing said. “He wants a Cy Young, and it shows in his recent behavior.”
OHTANI PITCHED CONSISTENTLY above 90 mph during the Dodgers’ first official spring training, a notable improvement for someone who traditionally prefers to adapt to his pitching program gradually. Four days later, around 10 a.m. on February 17, Ohtani sat atop the mound on Field 1 of his team’s complex and prepared to face hitters for the first time this year. Rushing crouched behind home plate while all of the Dodgers’ top decision-makers were nearby, huddled behind a small net. His interest was piqued.
The session, during which Ohtani hit 98 mph in a simulated entry, did not dampen expectations.
Rushing described their repertoire as “electrifying”.
Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, who was nearby, said, “I think we’re going to see a different Shohei on the mound this year.”
Between two elbow surgeries, Ohtani made 74 starts with the Angels between 2021 and 2023, during which he posted a 2.84 ERA, struck out 542 batters and walked 143 in 428 innings. Among the 57 pitchers who pitched at least 400 innings in that period, only two (Max Fried and Max Scherzer) had a lower ERA. Only one (Blake Snell) had a higher strikeout rate. However, the prevailing question surrounding Ohtani is whether he still has potential.
No one knows how much longer Ohtani will be able to pitch, but his circumstances heading into 2026 — having returned to the rotation late last year, paving the way for a normal offseason, and now working more closely with an organization known for improving its pitchers, despite its reputation for injuries — make this the ideal time to maximize his potential.
Your teammates could help you.
23 years ago, Prior formed a devastating rotation with his Chicago Cubs teammate, Kerry Wood. Thanks to this, Prior became a better pitcher. Later, as Prior became a coach, he saw Clayton Kershaw’s presence elevate Hyun-Jin RyuWalker Buehler and Julio Urías. Prior believes something similar will happen between Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who finished third in NL Cy Young voting last year. Both have the same chance as anyone of becoming the first Japanese pitcher to win MLB’s top award.
Prior hopes they will boost each other. But they will also be boosted by Snell, a two-time Cy Young winner, and Tyler Glasnow, who has some of the best reserves in baseball, plus a host of promising young starters who round out arguably the best starting rotation in baseball.
“It’s the competitive level that you start to create,” Prior said. “And then it becomes a kind of brotherhood or loyalty, however you want to describe it, like you want to uphold the standard set, whether it’s by one pitcher or maybe three or four. And when you get to that part of the rotation culture, that’s when teams become extremely competitive and extremely lethal because nobody wants to be the weak link.”
THE RETURN OF OHTANI pitching basically started with him moving his rehab into games. He started pitching one inning at a time in mid-June and didn’t reach the five-inning mark until late August. In total, he posted a 3.34 ERA, with 90 strikeouts and 16 walks in 67.1 innings, including the playoffs.
Prior noted instances where Ohtani became too predictable, such as when he leaned too heavily on his fastball-sweeper combination in an Aug. 13 start against the Angels and paid the price. But Prior also noted moments when Ohtani’s six-pitch command opened doors that others didn’t have. Like when he threw 23 curveballs on August 27 against the Cincinnati Reds because his fastball velocity wasn’t adequate. Or during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, when, in the middle of a three-homer game, he suddenly used his splitter and gave the Milwaukee Brewers hitters another chance to contend with.
“I think last year it was important for him to just come back, recover and pitch,” Prior said. “Now, it’s about refining the uses, the arsenal, maybe how he attacks hitters and knowing his current repertoire.”
Before spring training, Ohtani had already completed two bullpen sessions at near full intensity. By the time he left Dodger camp on February 23 to join his Japanese teammates in a World Baseball Classic in which he will only hit, had worked two full innings and seemed on track to join the rotation for Opening Day. By reuniting with his teammates — perhaps even on March 19 if Japan advances to the championship game — Ohtani is expected to have faced hitters at least two more times. However, logistics could be a problem. The difficulty of international travel, the reality of a highly competitive tournament and the limitations of a training schedule that often forces Japan’s national team to work on high school fields could be an obstacle.
As is their custom, the Dodgers will not rush Ohtani as a pitcher, either at the start or during the season. The presence of young, option starters like Emmet Sheehan, River Ryan, Gavin Stone, Kyle Hurt, Roki Sasaki, Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski allows them to give Ohtani as many days off between starts as he needs. Ohtani could stay healthy all year and easily not make more than 25 starts, a total that 82 pitchers surpassed in 2025. The mere chance could undermine his chances of winning the Cy Young Award. And yet, despite the obstacles ahead, expectations are once again astronomical.
He usually complies with them.
“He keeps going into situations where you expect something incredible to happen, and he rarely disappoints,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “For me, it will be the same this year: it will not disappoint.”
