LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani will make his Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring-training debut on Feb 27 against the Chicago White Sox, who share the facility at Camelback Ranch at Glendale, Arizona.
The 29-year-old will be the designated hitter as he plays in a game for the first time since signing a 10-year, US$700 million (S$941 million) deal in the Major League Baseball (MLB) off-season.
It will also mark Ohtani’s first game since undergoing his second career operation to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in September. The Japanese will not pitch during the 2024 season.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts observed Ohtani closely on Feb 25 as the latter faced live pitching from right-hander Jesse Hahn.
“He took three at-bats, and he looked good. I thought today was a good day for Shohei,” Roberts said.
Ohtani won two unanimous MLB American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards during six seasons (2018-23) with the Los Angeles Angels. His jump to the Dodgers has led to many fans flocking to the club’s spring-training complex.
The team are proceeding cautiously with Ohtani ahead of the Dodgers’ season openers against the San Diego Padres on March 20 and 21 in Seoul.
Roberts said the team are not under pressure to have Ohtani ready for the Seoul Series. He said: “I do think that having him play certainly adds to the attention of the series, of the games. But, most importantly, is his health. So if it lines up, great. And if it doesn’t, then we’ll still move on from there.”
Ohtani won his second AL MVP award last season when he batted .304, had an AL-leading 44 homers besides 95 RBIs in 135 games with the Angels. He led the AL with a .412 on-base percentage and led the MLB with a .654 slugging percentage.
As a pitcher, Ohtani went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA (earned run average) and recorded 167 strikeouts over 132 innings (23 starts). He limited opposing batters to a .184 average.
His pitching efforts ended after he tore the elbow ligament on Aug 23. The three-time All-Star continued playing as a batter until he sustained an abdominal injury on Sept 4.
Despite career statistics of 171 homers and 3.01 ERA as a pitcher, Ohtani did not play in a single play-off game during his six-season stint in Anaheim. REUTERS
