Dodgers need Shohei Ohtani's arm, but his bat will do for now - ESPN

The attrition that has plagued the Los Angeles Dodgers was most stark Tuesday night, when Matt Sauer, a 26-year-old journeyman, was called on to pitch bulk innings and wound up throwing 111 pitches, a career high and at least 29 more than he had tallied at any point in the past two years. He was followed by Enrique Hernandez, the team's effervescent utility player, who recorded the final seven outs of a lopsided loss to the San Diego Padres by throwing crossbody cutters that barely reached 50 mph, marking the first time in at least 67 years that a Dodgers position player had been called on for more than two innings.

Such is the state of the Dodgers' pitching staff. Its injury rate is once again alarming, the team's division lead has become miniscule because of it — and the anticipation around Shohei Ohtani's return to pitching continues to intensify.

Ohtani took part in his third simulated game hours before the Dodgers deployed the bottom of their depth chart against their biggest rivals, ramping all the way up to 44 pitches. His first start since Aug. 23, 2023, might only be a month away. But the Dodgers vow to remain cautious, no matter how short-handed they might be. Ohtani's bat is too valuable. His two-way future is too precarious.

«Viewing it on a shorter-term horizon, it's easy to want to be aggressive and push — I think both from him and from us,» Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. «But we set out to view this as putting him in the best position to pitch over the next nine years and prioritizing longevity, and this first year back, it's really important for that long-term aspect to not be too aggressive right now.»

Ohtani, though, is forcing the issue. At around 2 p.m. Tuesday, he