LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani, who is rehabbing from elbow surgery as a pitcher and preparing as a hitter, is “very excited” to be ready to serve as the designated hitter when the Los Angeles Dodgers open the season in the South. I’m confident,” he said. Korea on March 20th. His manager, Dave Roberts, also knows where he will attack.
On Saturday afternoon, Roberts sat on a makeshift stage on Dodger Stadium’s center field lawn and revealed the first three spots in the star-studded lineup to those attending the team’s Fan Fest event, with Mookie Betts leading the way. He announced that Freddie Freeman would be the starting pitcher. The No. 2 batter will be the No. 3 batter, and Otani will be the No. 3 batter. This drew a loud roar from the crowd of about 35,000 people, many of whom were wearing new Ohtani jerseys and T-shirts commemorating the Dodgers’ $700 million win.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to be the epicenter of sports and baseball,” Roberts said of an offseason in which the team allocated about $1.2 billion to Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernandez and James Paxton. He spoke with a hint. Achieved a 100-win season.
“It’s great for our game, it’s great for our city, and it raises the bar for all of us.”
Ohtani, who underwent a second Tommy John surgery on Sept. 19, has been doing flips and hitting tees and will report to the team’s spring training site in Glendale, Ariz., next week. He plans to start increasing his ball speed immediately.
His pitching program is still largely unknown, but he said his hitting progress is “on schedule” and is confident he will be able to play in the long-awaited back-to-back games against division rival South Korea’s San Diego Padres. . The public is already eager to see Otani up close.
“Rehabilitation is going very well,” Otani said through translator Ippei Mizuhara. “Right now things are going according to plan. If we’re ready by March 20th, I think we can play all year.”
Dodgers shortstop Gavin Lux, who tore his ACL in spring training and missed the entire 2023 season, also expects to be ready by the start of the season. So is high-leverage reliever Blake Treinen, who has been limited to five appearances over the past two years due to shoulder issues. He expects to have a “normal” spring training.
Walker Buehler, returning from his second Tommy John surgery, will enter the 2024 season with an innings restriction and will start a little later to stay within that mark without any interruptions during the season. It’s planned.
The Dodgers’ rotation was completely reworked this offseason, but Ohtani won’t pitch until 2025. Yamamoto, Glasnow and Paxton will join incumbents Buehler and Bobby Miller, with Emmett Sheehan, Gavin Stone and Michael Grove among others poised to take their place. Dustin May, who is recovering from flexor tendon surgery, also could be an option at some point during the season.
However, the Dodgers still hope to bring back Clayton Kershaw, who underwent shoulder surgery in early November and is not expected to return until midseason at the earliest. Kershaw is widely expected to ultimately sign a two-year deal with either the Dodgers or his hometown Texas Rangers.
“We continue to communicate with Creighton and we will move forward,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomez said.