Shohei Ohtani is making his first moves toward delivering on his genuine two-way abilities at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Japanese superstar is pitching during the first bullpen session of spring training. The 30-year-old completed his astounding move to the Dodgers in December 2023 in a deal worth $700 million, but an elbow injury and the resultant surgery to repair meant he could not pitch in his debut season. His first season at Dodger Stadium saw Dave Roberts’ side finish the regular season with a 98-64 record, and they duly rode through the postseason before winning the World Series against the New York Yankees in five games.
Having Ohtani available to pitch and offering his prodigious batting talents will leave many Dodgers fans dreaming of back-to-back title triumphs. Currently, FanDuel has them the heavy favorites to win the National League West (-600), the National League Championship (+200), and the 2025 World Series (+275).
Roberts will no doubt be slowly easing Ohtani in for fear of any recurrence of his previous elbow issues, but he will also be keen to see his star performer out on the mound.
Pitching coach Mark Prior was, nonetheless, happy with what he saw in this initial runout,
“It’s going to be unique and we’re going to have to do it on the fly, We saw what he did last year trying to rehab and hit. That seemed to turn out pretty well, at least on the offensive side of the ball. It’s probably going to be some version of that. Great thing is, Shohei’s really dedicated to his craft, really dedicated and really meticulous about what he does. He communicates very well on what he needs those days to get ready. So we’re just going to have to be nimble and we’re going to have to adjust. Once he steps between the line of a real game, we can’t control the situation.”
“That’ll be ultimately the principle that guides this whole thing is making sure that he’s 100 percent ready to go out there and let the game dictate what happens, and he’s in a position to handle that physically, mentally and emotionally.” Prior added.
Ohtani has done well in returning to pitching so soon, considering he was returning from shoulder surgery in November, but one imagines they won’t want to rush him into game action too soon. Responding to reporters about when Ohtani would be pitching regularly, Roberts stated that May ‘sounds about right’.
He was firing in pitches at around 92-94 mph across his 14 pitches in the session. He is expected to face hitters towards the end of spring camp before the team flies out to Tokyo, where they’ll begin the season with two games against the Chicago Cubs. The last time Ohtani pitched in the MLB was October 2023, which illustrates just why the Dodgers will want to take things step-by-step. Until Ohtani is back to his best, Dave Roberts will rotate five pitchers, made up of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki, with the likes of Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, and Bobby Miller battling for the remaining berth.
