GLENDALE, Ariz. — He has made five All-Star teams, won four MVP Awards and two World Series championships and just followed up Major League Baseball’s first ever 50-homer, 50-steal campaign by becoming the first player ever with 50 homers as a hitter and 50 strikeouts as a pitcher.
Now, after back-to-back record-setting seasons to start his 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers, what’s left for Shohei Ohtani to accomplish?
“I think it’s fair to say he expects to be in the Cy Young conversation,” said manager Dave Roberts.
(Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
MLB’s top pitching honor is the only major award that has eluded Ohtani during his unprecedented eight-year career.
He claims that winning his first Cy Young in 2026 is not his primary focus, but as he gears up for his first full season on the mound since undergoing his latest elbow surgery in September 2023, opportunity beckons for baseball’s unicorn.
“If, at the end, the result is getting a Cy Young, that’s great,” Ohtani said through his interpreter after throwing a bullpen session on Friday. “Getting a Cy Young means being able to throw more innings and being able to pitch throughout the whole season, so if that’s the end result, that’s a good sign for me. What I’m more focused on is just being healthy the whole year.”
Ohtani has gotten close to winning the award once before in his career. In 2022, he went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 166 innings over 28 starts for the Angels and finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting.
That was the only time in Ohtani’s MLB career that he has made more than 23 starts or thrown more than 132 innings, primarily due to the two major elbow reconstructions he has undergone since the end of his rookie year in 2018.
(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Ohtani was named the National League MVP in his first year as a Dodger in 2024 despite serving only as a designated hitter. After the season, he needed surgery on his non-throwing shoulder and did not record his first start on the mound as a Dodger until June 2025 — 22 months after his last big-league pitching appearance with the Angels.
The Dodgers handled him carefully and built him up slowly. He made two one-inning appearances, then two two-inning appearances, then three three-inning appearances, eventually working his way up to a five-inning outing at the end of August. He ultimately threw just 47 innings over 14 regular-season starts, but he finished the year with a 2.87 ERA and a 33.2% strikeout rate, which tied a career high. Ohtani entered the 2025 postseason coming off three scoreless September outings, the last of which was his first six-inning appearance in over two years.
“I think the thing that was most surprising from last year was his command,” Roberts said. “I’ll say that he still feels his command wasn’t up to par, but given the Tommy John and what typically command looks like the year after, it was above that.”
In the playoffs, Ohtani recorded one of the greatest all-around performances in MLB history in Game 4 of the NLCS when he hit three home runs and struck out 10 batters in six scoreless innings to send the Dodgers to the World Series.
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The Fall Classic was more of a struggle on the mound for Ohtani, who allowed seven runs in 8.1 innings over two starts. He admitted Friday that he “did feel the effect” of playing deep into October as a two-way player for the first time.
“I think playing the postseason as a DH only, which I did two years ago versus what I did last year, did feel different,” Ohtani said. “In that sense, it’s an experience that I plan to hold onto.”
This year, Ohtani is expected to be ready for a full pitching workload and be handled more normally after his first fully healthy offseason in years. He reported to camp at the beginning of the month and has already thrown three bullpen sessions, though it’s unclear at this point how the World Baseball Classic might impact his throwing progression.
Ohtani will hit but won’t pitch for Team Japan, which begins pool play on March 6.
“I’m sure [pitching coach] Mark [Prior] will be talking to the pitching coach over there and kind of stick to our plan, and we’ll be in lockstep,” Roberts told me. “I’m not too concerned about it. Shohei’s very well aware of what he needs to do.”
It has yet to be determined when Ohtani will depart for the WBC or whether he’ll start in a Cactus League game before he goes. He said he is planning to ramp up as much as he can now to be ready to face hitters sometime next week.
The Dodgers will likely operate with a six-man rotation once the season begins. They’re not going to rush Ohtani or put a date on his 2026 pitching debut yet, but if all goes to plan, he could be ready to take the mound on Opening Day or shortly thereafter as he prepares to write the latest chapter of an unparalleled career.
“We just want him to be healthy and make starts,” Roberts said. “All the numbers and statistics will take care of themselves.”
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.