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 at this time’s ten-pitch bullpen session received’t change the truth that Ohtani isn’t going to pitch within the majors this 12 months, it’s the newest indicator that the league’s greatest star is nicely on his approach 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 12 months.
Whereas Ohtani received’t throw an official pitch for the Dodgers within the first 12 months of his record-shattering ten-year deal with the membership, that hasn’t stopped the 30-year-old from being a dominant drive for the membership as they head for his or her Twelfth-consecutive playoff look. Ohtani is at the moment the consensus favourite for this 12 months’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 12 months, 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 risk 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 12 months, 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 12 months. 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 steer 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 ahead of that. Proper-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is making vital progress towards a return to motion after being sidelined by a rotator cuff pressure again in June. Based on MLB.com’s Damage 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 nicely, supervisor Dave Roberts indicated to reporters yesterday that Yamamoto can 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 harm this 12 months with a 2.92 ERA and a couple of.68 FIP with a superb 27.9% strikeout charge in 74 innings of labor so far in his huge league profession.
- The longer term is considerably murkier relating to the Dodgers’ third main offseason addition, nonetheless, as supervisor Dave Roberts at this time 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 checklist simply final week resulting from elbow tendinitis and whereas Roberts relayed that he has already resumed enjoying 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 isn’t in jeopardy as issues stand. With the Dodgers extraordinarily well-positioned for a postseason berth headed into the common season’s ultimate month, it’s not essentially a shock that the membership can be extraordinarily cautious with the 31-year-old in hopes of guaranteeing his wholesome return for the playoffs this October.
