Shohei Ohtani pitched against hitters for the first time since 2023 last Sunday, facing Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Hyeseong Kim and Dalton Rushing, and game planning coach J.T. Watkins in a live batting practice session at Citi Field.
It was an important step in his journey back to the mound with the Dodgers this season, and there are going to be many more sessions like it over the course of Ohtani’s remaining rehab process.
Because of how valuable he is to the Dodgers’ offense, the expectation has been Ohtani will not be sent out to any of the organization’s Minor League affiliates to complete rehab starts in preparation for his activation from the injured list.
Ohtani’s schedule consists of a light bullpen session every Wednesday and more comprehensive work off the mound on Saturdays. The latest wrinkle in the throwing plan involves completing a live batting practice session once per week going forward.
While it strays from the norm, Ohtani likes his chances to prepare for a return to pitching even without the use of a rehab assignment, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
He said he was “pretty confident with this way of going about rehabbing” without pitching in actual games on a minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment.
“I’ve done this before previously,” Ohtani said. “So as long as I’m getting the pitch count, the intensity in, I feel pretty good, I’ll be well-prepared.”
It is similar to the way the Dodgers have had Ohtani approach his preparation as a hitter during Spring Training the past two instances. Ohtani often relied other methods, such as cage work or live batting practice, to simulate at-bats in lieu of taking reps in a Cactus League game.
He threw 22 pitches in his first live session, recording two strikeouts and walking a batter while allowing only one hit to Kim.
Ohtani managed to throw with good intensity, with his fastball velocity sitting between 94-97 mph. He also incorporated all of his pitches, including a curveball and slider.
Shohei Ohtani looked uninhibited
Ohtani throwing with good velocity and being able to mix in his offspeed pitches offered plenty of reason to be encouraged with Sunday’s session. Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior noted there was no strain in Ohtani’s delivery while delivering each offering.
Rather, it seemed effortless with each delivery to the plate, something Prior viewed as a positive.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
