The 2024 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers will commence with Game 1 on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. Thursday, however, was reserved for media availability, during which Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked the question that he's presumably grown tired of answering over the last month-plus: could he envision any scenario that would see two-way star Shohei Ohtani, sidelined from pitching since undergoing elbow surgery a year ago, take the mound this series?
Predictably, Roberts answered the same way that he and other key Dodgers personnel have when asked that question at various points over the past month: no.
"There's no possibility, none whatsoever," Roberts said. "Thank you for asking."
Perhaps Roberts has himself to blame for the barrage of questions about Ohtani's pitching availability. Back in September, Roberts was asked during a radio interview about Ohtani returning to the mound in October. At the time, he said "you should always leave some margin, a crack in the door for any possibility."
Roberts and the Dodgers have since slammed that door repeatedly. To wit, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on September 20: "We aren't even thinking about that right now. Again, this is like January for him. He's just barely a year out from Tommy John." At the time, Ohtani was continuing to progress in his rehab but, as Friedman noted, remained a ways apart from being ready to perform in game action.
Ohtani, 30, is in the first season of the 10-year pact he signed with the Dodgers last winter. As such, the Dodgers have every reason to take the long view here with respect to his health and his future on the bump.
Besides, it's not as though Ohtani will provide the Dodgers with zero production during the World Series. He hit .310/.390/.646 (190 OPS+) with 54 home runs, 130 runs batted in, and 59 stolen bases during the regular season, and he's kept up his torrid hitting in 11 postseason games to date by posting a .934 OPS with three home runs.
Check back next week when Roberts is invariably asked again about Ohtani pitching this series.