"Tyler Glasnow is done, Walker Buehler coming off second Tommy John" – Ian Happ curious about Dodgers' starting pitchers as playoffs loom
On Saturday, MLB players Ian Happ (Chicago Cubs), Dakota Mekkes (retired) and Zack Short (Atlanta Braves) discussed Shohei Ohtani's Los Angeles Dodgers, focusing on their pitching rotation and playoff prospects.
The Dodgers punched their ticket to the postseason for a 12th consecutive season with a win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
The Dodgers are facing a bit of an injury crisis in terms of starting pitchers, with Gavin Stone, Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw on the IL. There has been some respite though, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler recently making their returns and putting in strong performances.
On Saturday's edition of "The Compound," Ian Happ talked about the Blues' chances of going deep in the postseason as they continue to deal with injuries to some of their most important pitchers.
"It'll be interesting to see, just like with their rotation. [Tyler] Glasnow's down now and done. I don't know where [Clayton] Kershaw's at. [Walker] Buehler was pretty good against us. You know, Buehler's still, [his] second Tommy John [surgery] - that's a really tough thing, coming off that [ second Tommy John surgery]." Happ said. [33:00]
"They're an interesting team too, because in the bullpen, they have multiple closers at hand. They have a good bullpen, they have a good back-end. The starting pitching with some of the injuries is probably a little bit of a question. They have the guys, it's just if they'll be healthy and what it will look like," he added.
Dodgers GM offers update on Shohei Ohtani potentially taking to the mound in playoffs
Along with his extraordinary talents with the bat, Shohei Ohtani is not too shabby on the mound either.
However, the Japanese international has not pitched in the 2024 season as he underwent surgery for a torn Ulnar Collateral Ligament injury. He is expected to resume pitching at some point in the 2025 season. Nonetheless, due to injuries to some key pitchers and his recovery progressing well, there have been rumors that we may see Shohei Ohtani on the mound in the playoffs.
On Friday, Dodgers General Manager Brandon Gomes dispelled some of those rumors.
"That feels very unlikely right now. I think he [Shohei Ohtani]'s just going through his throwing progression and he feels really good, which is important, but at this point, I don't see him pitching in the postseason." Brandon said. [0:05]
The injury Shohei is recovering from affects motions such as pitching and throwing the ball in the field, but not swinging the bat. Going by Gomes' words, it appears the Dodgers are not going to risk any aggravation of Ohtani's injury by rushing him back to the mound.