Dodgers prioritize Shohei Ohtani’s health, may limit two-way workload in 2027

The Los Angeles Dodgers are entering the 2027 season with a cautious plan for Shohei Ohtani, signaling that protecting his health will take priority over forcing an immediate return to a full traditional two-way workload. After injuries cut short his pitching season in early July, the club’s offseason approach is expected to focus on how Ohtani builds back up as a pitcher and whether he opens the year in the rotation at all.

That shift follows a second half in which Ohtani did not pitch after July 3, his final mound appearance of the regular season. He dealt with left-knee discomfort and right-biceps discomfort later in the year and went on the injured list in September. Still, offseason reporting from the Dodgers and MLB said Ohtani did not require surgery after the season and is expected to be fully healthy by spring training.

At the GM Meetings, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said the team plans to work with Ohtani on his offseason throwing program rather than lock him into a rigid schedule now. “But I think for Sho, in particular, it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s get back to feeling 100 percent, have the normal offseason, like you’re going to have,’ and then have that conversation based on what our team looks like,’” Gomes said. According to MLB.com, the Dodgers are considering several ways to manage Ohtani’s workload in 2027, including not having him open the season in the rotation, giving him more days off as a hitter and designated hitter, and building in recovery days after his starts.

The stakes are obvious because Ohtani remained elite in both roles in 2026, even in a shortened pitching year. At the plate, he hit .275 with a .377 on-base percentage and a .512 slugging percentage for an .889 OPS and a 143 OPS+, meaning he was 43% better than league average after adjusting for park effects. On the mound, he went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts, striking out 95 batters in 85 2/3 innings. His 237 ERA+ shows he was dominant there, too.

That production is why the Dodgers’ balancing act matters. Ohtani is the defining modern two-way player, but there is no real recent template for managing an athlete who is both a middle-of-the-order hitter and a frontline pitcher over a full major league season. His most complete benchmark remains 2022, when he played 157 games as a hitter and threw 166 innings. Since undergoing his second major right-elbow surgery in September 2023, he has thrown 132 2/3 regular-season innings, a reminder that the Dodgers are weighing what is possible against what is sustainable.

The club’s caution is rooted in health, not a drop in effectiveness. Ohtani’s 2026 numbers made clear that when he was on the field, he was still one of baseball’s most valuable players in either role. The question for Los Angeles is how to keep him that way across a full season.

That makes Ohtani’s 2027 usage more than a routine spring training storyline. The Dodgers committed 10 years and $700 million to him in December 2023, and his availability is central to the franchise’s long-term plans. For now, the clearest signal from the organization is that getting him healthy enough to sustain both jobs matters more than rushing to recreate the fullest version of his two-way workload on Opening Day.