If some other hitter was getting back from a shoulder operation, there can be considerations. If some other pitcher was getting back from a season-long absence spent recovering from a second elbow reconstruction, there can be tempered expectations.
Shohei Ohtani will encounter each obstacles this yr, however the widespread assumption is that he’ll proceed launching 450-foot homers and pumping 100-mph fastballs.
“Shohei’s going to be Shohei,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman mentioned.
How sensible is that? How sensible is it that Ohtani will stay the identical participant who has received three most respected participant awards? How sensible is it that he’ll be the identical hitter he was final yr, and the identical pitcher he was the yr earlier than that, when he’s getting back from two main surgical procedures?
“I just don’t see how he’s not,” Freeman mentioned.
Freeman pointed to how Ohtani performed on after he partially dislocated his left shoulder when he was caught stealing second base in Recreation 2 of the World Collection towards the New York Yankees.
“He played two days later,” Freeman mentioned. “I had to touch him in Game 3 to make sure he was real. When you pop your shoulder out like he did and you tear something, you usually can’t raise your arm above your head. I watched him walk in on a workout day in New York and raise his arm completely over his head. I was, like, ‘How is this man doing this?’”
Ohtani performed the rest of the sequence.
“So I would never put anything past Shohei,” Freeman mentioned.
4 days after the Dodgers celebrated their championship with a downtown parade, Ohtani underwent surgical procedure to restore a torn labrum. The operation was carried out by the identical physician who twice repaired his proper elbow, Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
A torn labrum altered the profession trajectory of former Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. The identical was true for Cody Bellinger, one other former Dodgers outfielder who now performs for the New York Yankees.
Kemp and Bellinger mentioned their shoulders felt tight after their operations.
“The shoulder surgery was kind of a complicated surgery, the joint is in a complicated place,” Ohtani mentioned. “From the standpoint of expanding my range of motion, I had to do more than with the elbow.”
Shohei Ohtani grimaces in ache after sustaining a shoulder damage whereas attempting to steal a base in Recreation 2 of the World Collection towards the Yankees at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 26.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Instances)
However whereas Kemp and Bellinger injured their lead shoulders, the left-handed-hitting Ohtani damage his again shoulder.
“For Shohei, batting left-handed, it being his back shoulder is less of a concern,” supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned.
Ohtani has began hitting off tees, and Roberts has examined some movies of him swinging the bat.
“You just wouldn’t think that there was any surgery this past winter,” Roberts mentioned.
The numbers make the identical case, as Ohtani’s batted balls off tees are touring quicker than 100 mph.
“It’s still north of any player we have right now,” Roberts mentioned.
Ohtani completed final season with 54 dwelling runs, a profession excessive. Referring to how Ohtani’s spouse is pregnant, Freeman joked, “Now, he’s got dad strength coming, so maybe he’ll hit 60 this year.”
The journey to get better his All-Star type as a pitcher may very well be the tougher activity, as getting back from a second Tommy John surgical procedure is a monumental enterprise.
Walker Buehler confronted that problem final yr, and earlier than he turned a postseason hero for the Dodgers, the right-hander posted a 1-6 document and 5.38 earned-run common in 16 regular-season begins. The one beginning pitchers identified to bear a second elbow reconstruction and return to their earlier efficiency ranges are Nathan Eovaldi and Jameson Taillon.
Roberts already dominated out Ohtani pitching within the season-opening sequence towards the Chicago Cubs on March 18 and 19, and Ohtani was obscure when requested about when he may make his first begin.
“We’ve only made rough plans,” Ohtani mentioned. “I think we’ll decide [on a timeline] when I return after I throw bullpen sessions in camp.”
Ohtani final pitched in 2023 when he was nonetheless with the Angels. He was 10-5 with a 3.13 ERA in 23 begins, however tore his ulnar collateral ligament in a late-August begin. He underwent surgical procedure a month later.
Shohei Ohtani is launched throughout DodgerFest at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Instances)
The primary time Ohtani had his elbow reconstructed was in his rookie yr in 2018. He tried to pitch within the pandemic-shortened 2020 season however was restricted to 2 ineffective begins.
This time round, Ohtani mentioned he feels extra snug. He briefly paused his throwing program when his shoulder was repaired in November and once more final month when a wildfire pressured him, his spouse and his world-famous canine to evacuate from their dwelling for 2 weeks. Ohtani mentioned his residing state of affairs wasn’t what saved him from figuring out.
“I was bedridden with the flu at the time,” he mentioned.
With spring coaching beginning subsequent week, Ohtani mentioned he was optimistic about his situation. Freeman additionally was upbeat.
Freeman supplied a reminder that Ohtani already has achieved the unimaginable by pitching and hitting at elite ranges within the main leagues.
“I wouldn’t put anything past the man,” Freeman mentioned.
