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The story
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on September 2 that resting Shohei Ohtani from pitching for the rest of the season is “one of the options,” raising the possibility that Ohtani could abandon his pitching comeback altogether. Despite a stellar 1.79 ERA, 8-2 record, and 0.95 WHIP this season, there’s no clear timeline for him to resume throwing. On 5ch, users debated whether his workload justifies a contract reportedly worth around ¥100 billion (roughly $680 million), and questioned the wisdom of using him in a way that keeps leading to injuries.
Ohtani’s Pitching Comeback May Be Off the Table — Manager Calls It “One of the Options” as Return Timeline Stays Unclear
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke to reporters on September 2 (September 3 JST) before a home game against the Cardinals. Asked about pitcher Shohei Ohtani, he said resting him from pitching for the rest of the season was “one of the options.” With the team’s support, Ohtani had been working toward a return to the mound this season, but the possibility that he may give up the pitching comeback entirely has now emerged.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
That part is basically fraud at this point
Yeah, this is done
Farewell, see you next year
Not sure there'll even be a next year though
He'd need to throw a complete game every single day to hit that
Two World Series titles already paid that $680M off
If winning just one World Series nets you $680M in value, the peak-era Yankees must've made like a trillion then? 😅
Not a position player — a hitter. Can't play defense, so he doesn't count as a position player.
Innings Pitched 85.2
Record 8-2
Strikeouts 95
K/9 9.98
Walks 26
K/BB 3.65
WHIP 0.95
Opp. Batting Avg .180
Quality Starts/% 12 / 85.7%
It hasn't been making news so I'd been ignoring it, but this is straight-up monster-level stuff
An 8-12 record from a guy who stays healthy and holds down a rotation spot all year gets more respect than this
That kind of peak brilliance means nothing for the team if it doesn't last
Probably because he doesn't listen to anyone
Back in his prime, Ohtani used to brag, 'I don't really listen to the coaches. I don't need advice either — I do things my own way.' But now that he's older and declining, it's completely come back to bite him.
His physical talent was off the charts, but maybe his ability to heal was just average?
Even back in his Fighters days (Japan's Nippon-Ham Fighters, his NPB team)
he'd push past his limits even while hurt,
which led to further injuries — [manager] Kuriyama used to scold him for it
Wasn't Fujinami actually the better pitcher in the majors?
If he can only hold up for 80-90 innings, they might as well fully convert him to an outfielder at this point
It's not his elbow, it's his knee
He's been sprinting full speed despite the injury
and doing bullpen sessions on his own, making it worse
Guys who get hurt this often can't become an unquestioned ace
Once a knee starts hurting and you keep moving on it, it stops healing properly — so it's probably hopeless now
A trashed knee like that is a lost cause
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
What’s actually come up so far is only the “possibility” of giving up the comeback — at this stage it’s just the manager calling it one of the options in an interview, not an official announcement that Ohtani is done for the year. Ohtani underwent his second elbow surgery in 2023, and this season he had been gradually working his way back to pitching with the team’s support, aiming to keep up his two-way role as both hitter and pitcher. Opinions in the thread split between those who value the impact of his pitching when he’s healthy, regardless of how injury-prone he is, and those who feel it doesn’t count for much unless he can pitch reliably all season. Some pointed to the size of his contract as clashing with how little he’s pitched, but the deal also reflects his value as a hitter, so judging it purely on pitching output oversimplifies things.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Talk Emerges That Pitcher Shohei Ohtani May Be Done for the Season шшшшшшшшшшшшшшшшшшшшшшшшш.”
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