Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hasn’t pitched since August 2023, when he was still a member of the L.A. Angels. Last year, before the Dodgers’ appearance in the World Series, there were news rumblings that Ohtani might get back on the mound as Los Angeles prepared to play the New York Yankees.
That never happened, but according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, baseball fans can expect an estimated injury timeline for Ohtani’s pitching.
In November, Ohtani had arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder to repair a torn labrum. On Wednesday, Ohtani revealed during Wednesday’s spring training session he will be able to resume DH duties in the spring and pitch in May.
The 30-year-old is a four-time MLB All-Star and winner of three MVP awards. Ohtani became the league’s first-ever member of the 50/50 club by hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases last season.
Ohtani began his professional baseball career playing in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.
In December 2023, the Dodgers signed Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract. Since then, baseball fans have grown frustrated with L.A.’s massive spending expenditures and dominance in MLB’s free agency. Last month, the Dodgers signed Roki Sasaki, a rising pitching prospect from Japan.
In 2024, Ohtani won his first World Series with the Dodgers, the franchise’s eighth title in its history, which dates back to 1883.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki likely starters for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Yoshinobu Yamamoto is likely to start for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they open the season against Chicago Cubs in Tokyo on March 18 and Roki Sasaki could make his major-league debut the next day.
The two Japanese pitchers and two-way star Shohei Ohtani will be the main attraction for Japanese fans during the two-game Tokyo Series. The Cubs have Japanese players Shota Imanaga, who is slated to get a start in Tokyo, and Seiya Suzuki.
“I think it’s fair to say that Yamamoto will pitch that first one,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “Then with Roki — like I said the plan is for him to pitch there. We’ll kind of figure out when. A lot is contingent on the unknown, how he responds to spring training and his buildup.”
Roberts said Sasaki could theoretically pitch in one of the Dodgers’ exhibition games in Tokyo ahead of the season opener against the Cubs.
“Everything’s on the table, but I think it’s fair to say it would be to pitch in the second game of the season,” Roberts said. “But if it doesn’t line up, then it doesn’t line up.”
Sasaki, a 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph, threw a bullpen session surrounded by much of the coaching staff. He was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year for the Pacific League’s Chiba Lotte Mariners, striking out 129 in 111 innings during a season limited by shoulder inflammation.
“We want to make sure he’s in a good position and feels good when he pitches,” Roberts said. “I don’t want to put him in a box right now.”
The 26-year-old Yamamoto was 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA over 18 starts for the Dodgers last year in his first MLB season.
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