Roberts: ‘No possibility’ Ohtani will pitch in 2024 World Series

LOS ANGELES — You can’t blame anyone for asking the question, because Shohei Ohtani has the ability to make anything appear possible.

But just one more time, for the record, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed on the eve of the World Series that Ohtani will not be pitching in this Fall Classic.

“There’s no possibility, none whatsoever,” Roberts said when posed the question during his media availability at Dodger Stadium on Thursday. “Thank you for asking.”

Though usually a dual threat the likes of which the AL or NL had not seen since Babe Ruth, Ohtani — who signed a 10-year free-agent deal worth $700 million last Dec. 11 — has been relegated strictly to designated hitter duties in his first season with the Dodgers while recovering from surgery on his right elbow performed in September 2023.

Regardless of any external conversation, Ohtani said Thursday that him pitching in the postseason was never discussed internally.

“I’ve never said to them that I wanted to pitch in the postseason,” he said through interpreter Will Ireton.

Earlier this month, Roberts was asked if Ohtani could or would play the outfield this postseason, and that, too, was a firm, “No.”

In his MLB career as a pitcher, Ohtani is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and a 142 ERA+ (42% better than league average) in 86 starts. He finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2022.

Win or lose in this World Series, that’s the kind of potential rotation impact the Dodgers have waiting on deck.