Dodgers News: Ohtani Nominated for 2025 NL MVP Award
Ohtani is seeking his fourth MVP award after the nomination
LOS ANGELES, CA—For the second consecutive season, two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
In just his second season in a Dodger uniform, after inking a massive 10-year, $700 million deal just two off-seasons ago, the unicorn is looking to add some hardware to his shelf and collect his fourth MVP award over the last five seasons (2021, 2023, 2024).
Last season, Ohtani was named the unanimous winner after setting a historic feat of a 50/50 season while also leading the NL in multiple offensive categories, such as runs (134), home runs (54), RBI (130), OBP (.390), SLG (.646), and OPS (1.036). And despite a particular fanbase trying to argue who led the league in WAR, Ohtani led in both fWAR (9.1) and bWAR (9.2).
His 2025 performance was nothing short of historic — the first full season he’s been able to both pitch and hit in Dodger blue after recovering from elbow surgery that kept him off the mound in 2024.
In the batter’s box, Ohtani had an elite .282/.392/.622 slash line and a 172 wRC+, clobbering a franchise record and new career high 55 home runs while also leading the NL in runs (146), slugging (.622), OPS (1.014), and fWAR (7.5).
On the mound, during a slow buildup period, Ohtani was still able to put up elite numbers, posting a 2.87 ERA, 1.90 FIP, and a ridiculous 33.0% strikeout-percentage.
This season, the Dodgers faithful got to experience the full two-way experience, and it should likely culminate in yet another MVP finish.
Ohtani’s combined 9.4 fWAR was only second in Major League Baseball to Aaron Judge’s 10.1 and was 2.4 points higher than the second-best mark in the NL, which belongs to Geraldo Perdomo of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Also nominated for the NL MVP Award is New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto, who is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, where he slashed .263/.396/.525 with a 156 wRC+ after inking a massive 15-year, $765 million deal this past winter.
The third finalist is designated hitter Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies, who led the NL in home runs with 56 and RBIs with 132.
The award winner will be announced on MLB Network on Thursday, November 13th.
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