Shohei Ohtani is making his highly anticipated 2024 Cactus League debut on Tuesday as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ designated hitter in their matchup against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch.
Ohtani has created a buzz in his first camp with the Dodgers after joining the team on a record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract during the offseason.
The two-way superstar is coming off another unworldly season that was cut short due to separate elbow and oblique injuries. Although he isn’t expected to pitch this year, Ohtani will continue to make an impact with his bat.
The two-time American League MVP has steadily made progress toward getting into his first Spring Training game of the year by participating in several rounds of live batting practice.
Ohtani logged a combined three at-bats against Joe Kelly and Jesse Hahn on Sunday, bringing his known spring total to eight. “He looked good, he looked fine,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“I think we probably got past that point where he’s repeated a lot of his days, and the day after a heavy workload, he comes in feeling good. There haven’t been any days where he’s regressed. So my expectation is he’ll come in feeling good and we’ll continue to ramp up the work.”
Ohtani said he will need to take 50 at-bats in order to prepare for the regular season, which could come in Cactus League play, simulated games, live batting practice or taking swings against the Trajekt Arc pitching machine inside the Dodgers’ new indoor hitting cages at Camelback Ranch.
Ohtani has maintained that he will be in the Dodgers lineup for their Opening Day matchup against the San Diego Padres in South Korea.
How to watch Shohei Ohtani Dodgers Spring Training debut
First pitch between the Dodgers and White Sox at Camelback Ranch on Tuesday is set for 12:05 p.m. PT and will be televised by SportsNet LA and MLB Network.
Another means to watch Ohtani’s Dodgers debut is via MLB.TV stream.
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