There hasn't been too much Shohei Ohtani news ever since the megastar's free agency sweepstakes ended, once he signed a 10 year, $700,000,000 contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023.
Yet, with spring training now underway for all 30 MLB teams, the media not only now gets to see the Japanese icon in his new white and blue threads, but also gets to watch him perform for the first time since September.
Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto together in one photo?
It's Sho-Yo time. pic.twitter.com/5rIDfKOTV6
— MLB (@MLB) February 21, 2024
What's more, Ohtani opened up to ESPN about his spring training plan will be, as he prepares himself for the 2024 season.
According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Ohtani, "wants to take 50 spring training at-bats to feel ready for the regular season."
Roberts also noted that the five at-bats he has taken through two live-BP sessions — one of which took place Wednesday, where Ohtani saw six pitches against Dodgers pitcher Ryan Yarbrough, in which he hit a hard ground ball — essentially counts toward that 50 total.
Ohtani also offered up his own assessment of his current spring training regiment, where he said that his body is "feeling good" and "reacting the right way" when he swings.
This is of course a positive sign, given that Ohtani is still on the mend from the second Tommy John surgery of his career, which he underwent in September and which will keep the two-way superstar off the mound for the entire 2025 season.
Ohtani also commented in the current health of that healing arm, when he said, "I feel good at the plate, seeing the ball well. Elbow-wise, there's nothing new."
Nothing new is good news.
Given that 50 at-bats really isn't that many, considering that a typical MLB spring training lasts for about two months, we'll likely see Ohtani sporadically, prior to opening day.
Since the Dodgers obviously aren't worried about Ohtani's spring training performance, and only care about him being prepared for their opening day game on March 28th against the St. Louis Cardinals, we wouldn't be surprised if Ohtani didn't take any live at-bats against opposing pitchers until the regular season began.
So while we might not see much of Ohtani at the plate until the end of March, let's just hope he can remain healthy enough to hit all season long.
