Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Will Win Cy Young Under One Condition, Says Analyst
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been trying to figure out the best way to manage the workload of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani this season.
After a couple years of Ohtani being limited due to injury or injury recovery, he is finally fully healthy for the first time since 2023.
This means that Ohtani has a full workload of both pitching and hitting, with the Dodgers trying to navigate the best way to keep him fresh.
"There is no gameplan," general manager Brandon Gomes said this week.
The Dodgers want to make sure Ohtani is healthy for the entire year, which has led them to sit him from the lineup in his last three pitching starts. On Wednesday, however, Ohtani is back in the leadoff spot while taking the mound.
Entering the season, the two-way star made it known he wanted to go after the Cy Young award in the National League, just about the one accolade he's yet to collect. The Dodgers feel that if he's going to pitch a full season's workload, he needs to get some rest from hitting.
Whether Ohtani agrees or not - and it appears he doesn't - so far, the results speak for themselves.
Ohtani has been incredible on the mound this season, posting an ERA of 0.82 over seven starts. However, with the additional rest built into his schedule with him only pitching once a week, the big discussion around Ohtani's Cy Young chances is whether or not he'll complete enough innings.
MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds spoke about Ohtani's chances to win the Cy Young award this season on MLB Tonight. Reynolds gave his prediction on what Ohtani could do to win the award, no matter how many innings he throws.
"If you have an under 1.00 ERA, let's just imagine that. There is no way that he doesn't win the Cy Young if his ERA is under 1.00," Reynolds said. "Shohei has to go five innings [a game], and if he's under 1.00, he wins. These other guys can throw 200 innings [and it wouldn't matter]."
#MLBTonight talks about the NL Cy Young race with Shohei Ohtani currently at the top, Cristopher Sánchez second and Paul Skenes third pic.twitter.com/Adn0rrbwtC
- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 18, 2026
Ohtani sits at 44 innings pitched across seven starts heading into Wednesday's game.
Comparing it to other Cy Young candidates, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates has thrown 55 innings over 10 starts, while Cristopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies is at 64.1 innings, also over 10 starts. Sánchez is the league leader entering Wednesday.
Ohtani doesn't currently qualify for the ERA lead, which could be an argument against him all year. However, if he continues to dominate across his 5-7 inning outings, it may not matter how many innings he completes at the end of the year.
As Reynolds said, if he can keep his ERA down low enough, the award could be his to lose. However, for now, all Ohtani can do is keep performing at a high level and let the chips fall as they may the rest of the way.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/onsi as Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Will Win Cy Young Under One Condition, Says Analyst.
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 4:00 PM.