The most anticipating news has finally dropped and it’s another great gift to the game of baseball. ESPN reporter Alden Gonzalez has reported that Shohei Ohtani is expected to join the rotation next month. There is s slight chance it could be before the All-Star break.

This is massive news for the Dodgers, as they could use all the help they could get pitching wise.

The Unicorn is Set to Return 

This is just massive. You could build the best rotation alive with all the pitchers that are on the injured list and their returns are nowhere near close. Tyler Glasnow is set back, Blake Snell has missed majority of the season and heck, even Gonsolin went down with an injury and he just returned. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is holding it together and luckily Roki Sasaki will return as well.

They don’t call Shohei the Unicorn for nothing. The guy has been a machine at the plate and is one of the best hitters in the sport. But he is also a phenomenal pitcher and many may forget what that’s like because it’s been so long since he’s been on the mound.

In his time with the Angels, he finished with a 3.18, 2.33 (career best), and 3.14 ERA. In that span, he finished with 150+ strikeouts in all three seasons and set a career high of 219 in 2022. He is a pitcher that’s been known to bring the velocity and has pitched like a true ace.

To be able to take the ball every fifth day and also do the damage he does at the plate is quite remarkable. This Dodgers rotation needs him in the biggest way possible. The Dodgers rotation has the 8th highest ERA among starters and that was not anticipated when they added the pieces they added.

Getting Ohtani back in the rotation is a gift. Although, given the state of elbow injuries and the pitchers breaking like twigs, it could be a curse. Either way, this is great for the game of baseball.