The Los Angeles Dodgers begin their Cactus League schedule on Thursday with a matchup against the Chicago Cubs at Camelback Ranch.
The Dodgers lineup should consist of several regulars, but Shohei Ohtani won’t be among them. He is not expected to make his 2025 Spring Training debut until the end of February or beginning of March.
As for the Dodgers’ pitching plans, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is under consideration to start in the Cactus League opener. “Shohei is going to be later in the month and we’ll see about Yoshinobu,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Ohtani recently revealed that he is still dealing with some discomfort from offseason surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder.
Fortunately for Ohtani, his surgically repaired shoulder is not his pitching arm, nor his lead shoulder when hitting, which makes the recovery effort easier and it should not affect him significantly.
The Dodgers have just 20 Spring Training games before breaking camp, and even with the reduced number, Ohtani should have plenty of time to prepare for Opening Day.
The two-way star has maintained that he will be in the Dodgers lineup for the Tokyo Series next month.
Shohei Ohtani throws second bullpen session
Although he suffered a small setback in his recovery from shoulder surgery, Ohtani has been able to continue with his throwing program.
Ohtani threw his second bullpen session on Tuesday and logged 21 pitches, all of which were fastballs.
That came three days after the 30-year-old threw off a mound for the first time this spring. He sat around 92-94 mph with his fastball, which was encouraging considering he did not throw at full intensity.
Assuming there are no setbacks, Ohtani should eventually advance to facing batters. The Dodgers are not planning to have him pitch in any Cactus League games or go on a rehab assignment before being added to the starting rotation by May.
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