"Can't imagine how tiring it is" - Shohei Ohtani's 2-way role leaves Dodgers in 'uncharted territory' full of concerns 

The Los Angeles Dodgers have used as many as 30 pitchers this season, the most in the MLB and it's not even the halfway stage yet. This has been necessitated due to a list of injuries to their top starters. The Dodgers are desperately in need of Shohei Ohtani to resume pitching.

But Los Angeles, so far has taken a cautious approach in getting Ohtani ready to take up his two-way duties he's been famous for. After an injury in August 2023, while with the LA Angels, where he had to undergo his second Tommy John surgery, it was expected that he would go through a 12-14 month timeline to return to the mound.

But that was pushed back during the 2024 World Series when he suffered another injury to his elbow while covering bases. This had pushed his rehab process. So far, Ohtani has gone through three simulated games where he has pitched to live hitters. The most recent one came against the San Diego Padres last week where he got to 44 pitches.

The Dodgers are determined to get Ohtani to at least 70 pitches before he can be brought back to the starting rotation. As per Dodgers' President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, the team needs to be cautious as they acknowledge the immense toll that Ohtani's body takes while showcasing his two-way prowess.

"I can't imagine how tiring it is to do both," Friedman said via ESPN.com. "It's one thing when you're in that rhythm of it and you are in shape for that. But it's been a while since he did both, and this is pretty uncharted because we've never been around a guy that does both at this level.

"And so it's just trying to do everything we can to build up the muscles in the right arm but also build up the endurance from a body standpoint of doing both and not fatiguing him in a way that makes his offense suffer," he added.

Dodgers staff acknowledge 'one-of-a-kind' player in Shohei Ohtani

Brandon McDaniel, who joined the coaching staff this season, is involved with the Dodgers mostly as the Strength and Conditioning Coach. While getting Ohtani ready, he had to point out that the generational talent himself doesn't get too overworked and is a rare player who understands how much his body can take at a point.

"He obviously wants to push; he's been pushing," McDaniel said via ESPN.com. "But it's just been such a great balance of taking very calculated strikes of when we're going to push and when we're going to add velo and when we're going to add spin, things like that. And ultimately, because he's a two-way player, we don't have a clock. And so when he feels like he's ready, that's the first part of the conversation."

That will be crucial if the Dodgers do not want the 30-year-old to burn himself by overworking. As a pitcher from 2021 to 2023, Shohei posted a 2.84 ERA in 428.1 innings of pitching.