Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman sends Shohei Ohtani warning to MLB before Cy Young ‘mission’

Between four MVP awards, the first 50 home run, 50 stolen base season in MLB history and two World Series titles, among many more accolades, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has seemingly done it all. However, the one thing Ohtani hasn’t claimed in MLB yet is a Cy Young award.

As he enters the 2026 season, the reigning MVP is motivated to add more hardware to his trophy case. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has seen how seriously Ohtani is taking his Cy Young quest, via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.

“He seems like he’s on a mission, pitching-wise,” Friedman said. “Whenever we’ve seen him on a mission, good things happen.”

As have his catchers Will Smith and Dalton Rushing. When they watch Ohtani work on the mound, they can’t help but be impressed with what they see.

“There’s no ceiling with him,” Smith said. “He can go out there and win a Cy Young this year. I have no doubt about that.”

“He wants a Cy Young,” Rushing added. “He wants a Cy Young, and you can tell with the way he’s carrying himself here recently.”

Ohtani finished fourth in Cy Young back in 2022 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels. But due to injuries, he hasn’t been able to make the full impact he wants on the mound since 2023. Overall, Ohtani has pitched to a 3.00 ERA and a 670/182 K/BB ratio through 100 major league starts.

Now fully healthy and dedicated to pitching, the Dodgers star has his goal set in stone. Winning Cy Young would put him in a tier of player never seen before. There would be no doubting his placement amongst MLB’s best. If Ohtani can stay healthy, he’s looking to make that a reality.

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