Ohtani, throwing off a mound in spring training at Camelback Ranch on Saturday, plus more on the pitching rehab ahead.
Shohei Ohtani threw his first bullpen session of spring training on Saturday, the latest step in his rehab from September 2023 elbow surgery.
Shohei on the mound. pic.twitter.com/OLRLNiOPzJ
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) February 15, 2025
FIRST LOOK: Shohei Ohtani is back on the mound throwing his first bullpen of Spring Training. pic.twitter.com/E06ND3O5SJ
— MLB (@MLB) February 15, 2025
Ohtani threw 14 pitches in his bullpen session, all fastballs, throwing between 92-94 mph, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier in the week that Ohtani would not pitch in any Cactus League games, but added on Saturday that Ohtani could progress to facing hitters before the Dodgers leave camp for Japan, per Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic.
Ohtani faces a tall task of rehabbing his pitching arm and building up his arm all while hitting in the majors. That means no minor league rehab assignment, but rather some combination of simulated games hours prior to big league contests.
From Alden González of ESPN:
“It’s going to be unique and we’re going to have to do it on the fly,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said. “We saw what he did last year trying to rehab and hit. That seemed to turn out pretty well, at least on the offensive side of the ball. It’s probably going to be some version of that. Great thing is, Shohei’s really dedicated to his craft, really dedicated and really meticulous about what he does. He communicates very well on what he needs those days to get ready. So we’re just going to have to be nimble and we’re going to have to adjust.”