Before the season began, manager Dave Roberts indicated the Los Angeles Dodgers hoped to have Shohei Ohtani pitching for them sometime in May, but the reality of the situation has changed.
A temporary pause on Ohtani’s throwing program ahead of the Tokyo Series was the first sign that the Dodgers were going to be extra cautious throughout the continued rehab process from his second Tommy John surgery.
The Dodgers have changed their stance from those early predictions as they recognized Ohtani’s situation requires a more patient approach.
But that hasn’t prevented Ohtani from making real progress ever since he resumed his throwing program, as he now has a set schedule for bullpens every Wednesday and Saturday.
While he still has restrictions on what he can do doing his throwing sessions, Ohtani is feeling good physically and is looking forward to throwing to live hitters once he is cleared to do so, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I feel pretty good with where I’m at physically,” Ohtani said of the throwing program. “There’s some limitations on how hard I’m supposed to throw or how many types of pitches I’m allowed to throw. So once I’m pretty cleared out in terms of being able to do all the above, I feel pretty good about being able to throw a live BP.”
The initial target date for his return was probably a realistic proposition, and the decision was made to change course upon further reflection about what it means for a pitcher to be rehabbing from a second Tommy John surgery. Ohtani is cognizant of the Dodgers’ reasoning and agrees with the need to take a measured approach:
“The Dodgers are consulting with the doctors just to make sure that, since this is my second operation, it’s really important to be conservative and be thoughtful,” he said.
In the meantime, Ohtani has had a strong start to the season at the plate even with his additional work as a pitcher. The designated hitter has been in a bit of a slump since returning from the paternity list, but he is still batting an overall solid .264/.366/.506.
Shohei Ohtani throwing splitters
Ohtani was limited to throwing fastballs (two-seam, four-seam and cutter) in his bullpens early on, but he was able to add splitters into the mix as of a bullpen session on April 5.
He has continued throwing those throughout the last few weeks, but he has yet to utilize his slider or curveball.
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