Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is unstoppable in the batter’s box, but fans are still waiting for him to return to the mound in 2025.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman provided the latest update on Ohtani’s pitching debut, which is still up in the air.

“We’ll continue to kind of map out the next week or two and keep going, but everything is progressing in the right direction, and we’ll start accelerating it at some point,” Friedman said. “Not sure exactly when.”

The Dodgers have three starters who opened the season in the rotation on the injured list. Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki have all been sidelined and won’t be back on the bump for some time.

The depleted Dodgers rotation could use Ohtani as a starter, but the Dodgers have made it abundantly clear the team will not rush the two-way star’s return to the mound. He is not expected to make his pitching debut until after the All-Star break.

Like Dodgers fans, manager Dave Roberts has expressed excitement to see Ohtani pitch; however, the team has handled the throwing progression delicately.

“I’m trying to temper it, because I know that we’re being very methodical with this – clearly,” Roberts said earlier this month. “But yeah, when you see the arm and see what he can do, you sort of – I put my head in the place of how he can help us right now. But (I’m) trying to be patient.”