Dave Roberts doesn’t know what Shohei Ohtani’s workload will be this season

After undergoing his second Tommy John surgery, Shohei Ohtani made 14 starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025, posting a 2.87 ERA over 47 innings pitched. The Japanese star also performed well in the playoffs, setting the stage for a full season in which he will serve as both a designated hitter and a starting pitcher.

However, it remains unclear what Ohtani's workload on the mound will be in 2026. Indeed, it appears that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts isn't entirely certain what this season will look like for his star player, stating that for now, he's taking things day by day with the pitcher.

It's simply not an exact science. As much as people want to think it might be—and some probably do—not all innings are created equal. Not all pitches are created equal.

What will determine how much Ohtani is used by the Dodgers is his health.

We talk to him a lot about how he's feeling, and if there are days when we need to give him a few extra days off, we're prepared to do that. But yes, I just don't know the extent of it. I really don't.

So it will be difficult for him to be in the conversation for the Cy Young Award.

The key for the Dodgers, however, will be to ensure that Ohtani is healthy for the playoffs, because the last thing Los Angeles wants is for the Japanese star to get injured again on the mound.

In fact, the California team has already given Ohtani a bit more rest ahead of his second start of the year, pushing it back to Wednesday for the final game of the series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

This start also comes before a day off, something the Dodgers frequently did last year and appear to be planning to do again this year.

This will be a story to watch.

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