When will Shohei Ohtani pitch for the Dodgers? Explaining star's 2026 pitching debut, Los Angeles' starting rotation

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Mar 26, 2026 - 05:27

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When will Shohei Ohtani pitch for the Dodgers? Explaining star's 2026 pitching debut, Los Angeles' starting rotation originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Shohei Ohtani returned to the mound in a major way in 2026.

The Dodgers standout only pitched 47 innings. But they were as good a 47-inning sample as any pitcher in the league. Ohtani entranced hitters with his vertical and horizontal break, evading bats to the tune of a scorching 33 percent strikeout rate.

Ohtani found his footing as the season wore on, even starting Game 7 in last year's World Series. That may seem an eternity for baseball enthusiasts, who were unable to watch Ohtani fire arrows towards home plate during the 2026 World Baseball Classic. But have no fear: Ohtani will stalk his prey on the bump before long. He won't have any limitations imposed on him when he does, either.

With that, here's what you need to know about Ohtani's pitching prospects in 2026.

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When will Shohei Ohtani pitch for Dodgers?

The expectation is for Ohtani to pitch without restrictions from the start of the 2026 season. He told reporters as much ahead of the World Baseball Classic.

Roberts confirmed that Los Angeles planned to nix Ohtani's pitch limits. The Dodgers are preparing to offer additional rest time to Ohtani -- he's one of six pitchers slated to field regular starts for Los Angeles in the coming campaign.

“I’m not going to manage him differently as far as each outing,” Roberts said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “There’s certainly going to be extra time, it’s not a five-day, six-day rotation. So there’s going to be rest in between. But outside of that, it’s not going to be the two-inning, three-inning [start], he’s just going to be used as a normal pitcher.”

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Ohtani pitched without limitations during the postseason, throwing at least six innings in three of his four playoff appearances. He dazzled in an NLCS-clinching win over the Brewers, surrendering two hits and three walks across six innings while striking out 10 batters. Ohtani also collected a trio of home runs, securing NLCS MVP honors in the process.

Ohtani won't be handed the ball on Opening Day; that honor is reserved for compatriot Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Still, Ohtani should pitch at some point in the next week. Roberts hasn't yet detailed where the two-way supernova stands in Los Angeles' rotation. But he's a part of the collection of twirlers, jostling for position with Yamamoto, Emmet Sheehan, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki. Blake Snell is expected to join the unit when he returns from a shoulder injury he suffered early in spring training. Justin Wrobleski could take his place as an extra arm while Snell tries to get up to speed.

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Why didn't Shohei Ohtani pitch in World Baseball Classic?

Ohtani spurned the mound during the 2026 World Baseball Classic, opting out from throwing pitches for Team Japan. The decision was his own, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Roberts said. “I can’t even say I was relieved. Understanding what he did last year, understanding what he had to go through, to then how best to prepare himself for ’26 to do both, it just seemed like the right decision.”

The decision doesn't appear to indicate that Ohtani's plans of starting the regular season on the mound were jeopardized. In fact, it seems likelier that Ohtani made the move to allow him to take on batters once the season gets underway.

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Shohei Ohtani pitching stats

Ohtani has accomplished plenty as a slugger and base-stealer, but he is arguably at his best when he's throwing. The 31-year-old placed fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2022 and has four sub-3.31 ERA campaigns under his belt.

He enjoyed a sterling campaign upon his return to the mound in 2026, producing a 145 ERA+ across 47 innings of work -- right in line with his career averages. Ohtani whiffed 62 batters across his time on the hill, good for an average of 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings. That mark would have led the league had he thrown enough innings.

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Season	Games	Record	ERA	Innings pitched	WHIP	Strikeouts	Walks	Hits	Earned runs
2018	10	4-2	3.31	51.2	1.16	63	22	38	19
2020	2	0-1	37.80	1.2	6.60	3	8	3	7
2021	23	9-2	3.18	130.1	1.09	156	44	98	46
2022	28	15-9	2.33	166.0	1.01	219	44	124	43
2023	23	10-5	3.14	132.0	1.06	167	55	85	46
2026	14	1-1	2.87	47.0	1.04	62	9	40	15
Totals	100	39-20	3.00	528.2	1.08	670	182	388	176

Dodgers pitching rotation 2026

Yamamoto, Ohtani and Snell spearhead a pitching rotation that figures to rank among baseball's most harrowing in 2026.

Joining them is Glasnow, a lanky hurler with enchanting breaking pitches. Sasaki was one of MLB's top prospects prior to his debut in 2025. And although he struggled mightily as a starter, his prowess for strikeouts should land him increased play time in his second season.

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With that, here's a look at Los Angeles' projected pitching rotation in 2026: