Two-way celebrity Shohei Ohtani's first season with the Dodgers will function him as a chosen hitter. However there’s a minimum of the chance that he might play on the sector in some unspecified time in the future later within the 2024 season.
In Monday's pregame session with reporters on the Gocheok Sky Dome in South Korea earlier than the Dodgers' closing exhibition sport, supervisor Dave Roberts stated Ohtani, who suffered a elbow operation in September, will start to launch quickly.
“As soon as we get again to the states, that hasn't began but. We'll see how this progresses,” stated Roberts. “If his arm is wholesome sufficient, we'll have the dialog [playing] within the subject I do know he's not going to do it this 12 months. However proper now, our solely focus is for him to be a chosen hitter.”
Throughout his six seasons with the Angels, Ohtani performed simply seven video games and 8⅓ complete innings within the outfield, all in 2021 when he performed six video games in proper subject and one in left subject, coming into all these video games in reserve. When Ohtani would possibly see the outfield, if in any respect, in 2024 will rely on how Ohtani's pitching program goes.
Whereas he isn’t anticipated to pitch through the 2024 season, it’s a minimum of attainable that his elbow rehab might progress in going through hitters later within the season. Final week, Dodgers crew doctor Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who carried out Ohtani's elbow surgical procedure in September and Ohtani's 2018 Tommy John surgical procedure, spoke with Jay Cohen of the Related Press:
“It simply so occurs that if it follows the launch schedule as we now have scheduled it, it’s going to launch its first simulated sport within the final week of September,” ElAttrache informed the AP. “Tommy John's surgical procedure 50 years in the past was September 25, 1974. So Ohtani will launch his first sim sport 50 years virtually to the date of the primary Tommy John, which is fairly wild.”
Roberts on Monday was requested about the potential of Ohtani going through hitters as a part of his rehab later this season.
“I feel with Shohei, something is feasible, however I don't have that head,” stated Roberts. “Sure that's what Dr. ElAttrache says, he's the skilled.”
