Stunning Late-Night Announcement By Dodgers on Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani a then-record $700 million contract in 2024, knowing that he would only be able to perform half of his awe-inspiring two-way talents last season, as his pitching arm recovered from elbow surgery.

Now, through a late-night announcement, the Dodgers have declared that the wait is over, and Ohtani will take the mound for them Monday night for the first time. They had been telling us all year that a post-All-Star Break return was the target.

Shohei Ohtani returns to pitching tonight ⚾️

“He is honored to make the world remember that he belongs to both sides of the game."#HeroesOfTheGame pic.twitter.com/ZuvdvFUDSN
— MLB (@MLB) June 16, 2025

The superstar Dodgers DH hasn't pitched in a major league game since August of 2023, then as a member of the LA Angels. He had elbow reconstruction surgery that September.

How much will Shohei Ohtani pitch in first start?

Fabian Ardaya reports in The Athletic that Ohtani is only expected to pitch one inning in his first start, however, and he will build up at about an inning per outing, until he's ready for a full workload in the rotation.

It's been a slow build-up this season, and he didn’t even face hitters for the first time until May 25, hitting 97 mph against a pair of teammates in a batting practice session. But it's been a quick progression in the three weeks since then, culminating in a three-inning session last Tuesday.

Even though the Dodgers have had to wait 17 months for Ohtani to become the two-way player they signed him for, it's not like he hasn't been worth the money in his massive contract already: He won his third MVP award in 2024, becoming the first player ever to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season. And oh, yeah, he also helped lead them to the World Series championship.

“The conversations, the confidence that he has, it’s time to go,” manager Dave Roberts said about Shohei's return to the mound. “It’s very exciting... The anticipation here for the game is, man, it’s going to be bananas when it happens."