The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ fortunes have well and truly turned around in the 2020s. They kicked off the decade by winning the 2020 World Series, had three straight 100-win seasons, then won two more World Series in a row in 2024 and 2025.
Despite many baseball fans feeling that the Dodgers are “paying to win” due to their high payroll number, there are other ball clubs who spend just as much as them, without the same type of success – such as the New York Mets. But the Dodgers have a cheat code, and his name is Shohei Ohtani.
The Dodgers had already reached the World Series three times and the NLCS four times in the seven seasons prior to Ohtani joining. But once he did, along with other crucial additions, the Dodgers haven’t stopped winning hardware. What’s crazier is that they haven’t even gotten a fully healthy Ohtani for a complete season. There’s meat left on the bone.
Shohei Ohtani will finally be a full-time two-way player in 2026
Ohtani was recovering from major elbow surgery when he signed with the Dodgers following the 2023 season. Despite not being able to pitch for a while, the two-way star became a one-way star in 2024, turning in an NL MVP season at the plate as a full-time designated hitter with a ridiculous .310/54/130 line. In 2025, he did very similar things at the plate, but re-added his pitching value later in the season once he was fully recovered from the surgery.
As we head into 2026, Ohtani has bigger goals than a potential fourth straight MVP award and third straight World Series ring. He wants to add a Cy Young award to his trophy room.
Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers teammates believe he can win Cy Young in 2026
A spring training report from ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez has highlighted Ohtani’s renewed passion for pitching ahead of the 2026 season. His teammates, coaches and front office executives all feel he’s about to do something special on the mound.
- “He seems like he’s on a mission, pitching-wise. Whenever we’ve seen him on a mission, good things happen.” – Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman
- “There’s no ceiling with him. He can go out there and win a Cy Young this year. I have no doubt about that.” – Dodgers catcher Will Smith
- “He wants a Cy Young. He wants a Cy Young, and you can tell with the way he’s carrying himself here recently.” – Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing
- “He keeps getting put in these spots where you expect something incredible to happen, and he rarely disappoints. To me, it’s going to be the same thing this year — he’s not going to disappoint.” – Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy
- “It’s the competitive standard you start creating… And when you get to that part of the rotation culture, that’s when teams get extremely competitive, and they get extremely lethal because nobody wants to be the weak link.” – Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior
Ohtani doesn’t want to be the weak link in the Dodgers’ rotation. In fact, Ohtani wants to be the best pitcher in the entire sport, while also being the best hitter. There’s no one left to doubt him at this point: If he wants to win his first-ever Cy Young this year, he probably will.
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