Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani simply took the primary main step in direction of his anticipated return to pitching subsequent season. As famous by The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, Ohtani threw off the mound for the primary time since he underwent elbow surgical procedure simply over eleven months in the past. Whereas right now’s ten-pitch bullpen session gained’t change the truth that Ohtani isn’t going to pitch within the majors this yr, it’s the newest indicator that the league’s greatest star is effectively on his solution to returning to two-way play in time for the Dodgers to open the 2025 common season with a two-game set towards the Cubs in Japan subsequent yr.
Whereas Ohtani gained’t throw an official pitch for the Dodgers within the first yr of his record-shattering ten-year deal with the membership, that hasn’t stopped the 30-year-old from being a dominant power for the membership as they head for his or her Twelfth-consecutive playoff look. Ohtani is presently the consensus favourite for this yr’s NL MVP award, which might be the third MVP of his profession after he captured the AL MVP award in each 2021 and 2023 with the Angels. In 126 video games with the Dodgers this yr, Ohtani has slashed an unimaginable .292/.378/.614 (170 wRC+) throughout 578 journeys to the plate. He grew to become simply the sixth participant in MLB historical past to hit 40 dwelling runs and steal 40 bases in a season final night time, becoming a member of Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, and Ronald Acuna Jr.
That dominant offensive efficiency has allowed Ohtani to emerge as probably the most constant menace in a star-studded Dodgers lineup. That’s thanks partly to his sturdiness; whereas fellow superstars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have each missed time this yr, Ohtani has appeared in 126 of the Dodgers’ 129 video games, leaving him tied with Teoscar Hernandez for the membership lead in video games performed this yr. With the surging Diamondbacks and Padres sitting simply 3.5 and 4.5 video games again respectively of L.A. within the race of the NL West, the Dodgers determine to proceed leaning on Ohtani to guide their offense to their eleventh NL West title previously 12 years.
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- Whereas Ohtani units his sights on returning to the mound in 2025, his fellow nine-figure free agent addition from this previous offseason is hoping to pitch within the majors a lot prior to that. Proper-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is making important progress towards a return to motion after being sidelined by a rotator cuff pressure again in June. Based on MLB.com’s Harm Tracker, Yamamoto threw a two-inning simulated sport earlier this week and is scheduled to throw his subsequent bullpen session on Monday. Ought to that session go effectively, supervisor Dave Roberts indicated to reporters yesterday that Yamamoto could be in line to start a rehab project this coming Wednesday. The 25-year-old righty was as-advertised in 14 begins previous to the damage this yr with a 2.92 ERA and a pair of.68 FIP with a superb 27.9% strikeout fee in 74 innings of labor up to now in his massive league profession.
- The long run is considerably murkier concerning the Dodgers’ third main offseason addition, nevertheless, as supervisor Dave Roberts right now described the rehab plan for right-hander Tyler Glasnow as a “sluggish course of” to reporters (together with Ardaya). The righty was positioned on the 15-day injured listing simply final week because of elbow tendinitis and whereas Roberts relayed that he has already resumed taking part in catch from 60 ft, he didn’t present a timeline for the hard-throwing ace’s return to motion past saying that Glasnow’s common season shouldn’t be in jeopardy as issues stand. With the Dodgers extraordinarily well-positioned for a postseason berth headed into the common season’s remaining month, it’s not essentially a shock that the membership could be extraordinarily cautious with the 31-year-old in hopes of making certain his wholesome return for the playoffs this October.