Cody Snavely
The long-awaited 2024 season is fast approaching, with all thirty teams reporting to their respective camps.
The Dodgers kick off spring game action this Thursday, February 22nd. However, one question on everyone’s mind is when Ohtani will see spring action.
The road to $700 million
The Los Angeles Dodgers had an offseason to remember, headlined by the signing of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
In December, Ohtani, arguably the biggest free agent to hit the open market in league history, settled on a 10-year $700 million deal with the Dodgers.
However, before this historical contract, many doubts about his health existed. The two-time unanimous AL MVP winner has had a track record of serious injuries.
Shortly after debuting with the Angels in 2018, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award, Ohtani would miss the next two seasons on the mound due to his first career Tommy John Surgery.
Ohtani would rebound well in 2021, where he finally put together his best season on the mound and at the plate.
Ohtani had a .257 batting average with 138 hits, 46 homers, 100 RBIs, and 103 runs scored in 155 games in 2021. He won his first MVP award and his first Silver Slugger award. Ohtani would also go 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA on the mound, earning him his first MVP.
Similar production in 2022 would land him second place in AL MVP voting and winning it again in 2023. However, the elephant in the room was how Ohtani ended the season.
Elbow pain would quickly end Ohtani’s time on the mound in 2023, and an oblique injury suffered in the final month would end his season. Although free agency was looming, many wondered what contract the two-way player would get.
The mystery of Ohtani
Entering the winter, Ohtani and his camp were very quiet about the health of his arm. Tommy John Surgery was assumed by many around the league but was not outright said by Ohtani.
During Ohtani’s introductory conference, he was bombarded with questions about his UCL and the surgery, where he stated he was not a doctor and couldn’t say what exactly the surgery was.
The simple answer is that Ohtani did have a procedure, but it was more of a revision or hybrid surgery than the traditional TJS. However, Ohtani would still miss 2024 on the mound but would be ready to hit by Opening Day 2024.
Where is Ohtani in his recovery?
Regarding the pitching side, no one truly knows where Ohtani is but Ohtani himself. However, with the team reporting to Arizona last week for spring training, there is more clarity on his health.
At DodgerFest, Ohtani stated the next steps for his rehab were to take batting practice and work up to high-velocity pitching. And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know Ohtani accomplished both those tasks in week one of camp.
What seems to be the final step is taking live at-bats, which have been a recent topic at camp with some miscommunication of whether Ohtani was ready or not.
However, a recent article by Bill Plunkett Dave Roberts had this to say about Ohtani and his progression.
He’s a lot further along than any of us not named Shohei would have expected; He’s worked really hard, and is very diligent in his work. What that means as far as when he’s gonna play in a Cactus League game, I don’t know that answer. But it seems like every single day, he keeps getting better and feels really good.
Dave Roberts via The Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett
While Ohtani did not take live at-bats the past weekend at camp, it is not out of the realm of possibility that he takes that next step this week before games start.
Will Ohtani be ready for Opening Day?
The biggest question on fans’ minds is whether Ohtani will be ready for Opening Day in Korea.
However, all signs indicate that the Ohtani will be ready to hit on March 20th. As Dave Roberts stated, whether that means Ohtani will see spring games remains unclear.
Ohtani will continue to take the following steps in his rehab as he begins to make his Dodgers debut, but whether that is a Cactus League or regular season game remains to be seen.
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