Shohei Ohtani’s first spring bullpen session surprises Dodgers: ‘He looks really good’
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PHOENIX — Mark Prior says he isn’t easily surprised by things he sees in spring camp.
Over his eight years as a Dodger pitching coach, Prior has dealt with Cy Young winners, highly touted prospects, nine-figure free-agent acquisitions and more injury rehabilitations than he cares to count.
Watching Shohei Ohtani this week, however, has been a source of amazement for Prior and other coaches and executives at Camelback Ranch.
“It’s crazy to think that this guy had surgery on his left shoulder in November,” Prior said Saturday. “He doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat.”
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Indeed, even though the labrum surgery Ohtani underwent just three months ago was to his left, non-throwing shoulder, Prior wasn’t sure of exactly how sharp the two-way star would look once he started throwing off a mound again during spring training.
The procedure, after all, delayed Ohtani’s throwing program this winter, dashing the already slim chances of him being ready to pitch by opening day. It also threw another wrench into his ongoing recovery from a 2023 Tommy John revision, introducing one more variable into the second major elbow rehab of Ohtani’s MLB career.
But on Saturday, in Ohtani’s first bullpen session of camp, the Dodgers were reminded of just how easy the two-way star can make even an elongated recovery process feel.
In 14 pitches, all of which were four-seam and two-seam fastballs, Ohtani was already up to 92 to 94 mph, according to manager Dave Roberts.
“The ball was coming out really good,” Roberts said. “I think he seemed pretty pleased with it.”
When Prior was asked for his evaluation of the session, the veteran pitching coach couldn’t help but gush over what he saw.
“There’s not a lot of things that, at least, kind of surprise me,” Prior said. “But he looks really good. And that is surprising for a guy who’s had a surgery. I know it’s not his throwing shoulder, but doesn’t look like his left shoulder has been impacted, at least visually to the naked eye. I’m sure he feels stuff here and there, but overall, he looks really good.”
Ohtani still has many boxes to check before he begins pitching in the big leagues again.
Though he was close to facing hitters at the end of last season — when he was limited to only designated hitting duties in games while slowly ramping up his post-Tommy John throwing program — Ohtani had to somewhat restart his process as a pitcher this winter, with his surgery on the torn labrum he suffered in the World Series taking place shortly after the Dodgers’ championship parade.
When spring training started at the beginning of last week, the 30-year-old was still limited to flat-ground throwing sessions. It was only on Wednesday that he threw his signature sweeper in catch play for the first time.
Saturday’s bullpen, nonetheless, served as an important step in Ohtani’s pitching build-up. Afterward, he described the session as simply “good.” The only real snafu of the day was with the ball-tracking technology that was supposed to record movement data on each of his pitches. It was malfunctioning until his final two throws.
“Unfortunately, technology was not necessarily our friend today,” Prior joked.
Follow along for the latest news as the Dodgers open spring training at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix following their World Series-winning campaign.
But even to the naked eye, Ohtani’s delivery looked smooth to the Dodgers’ coaching staff, with the right-hander working exclusively out of the stretch.
“I think right now he’s just trying to find some rhythm and some timing,” Prior said of Ohtani’s decision to stay away from a full wind-up. “Probably generating a little bit of energy and trying not to put as much stress initially on the arm.”
The fact his velocity was already into the mid-90s was another reason for optimism.
“For the first day,” Roberts said, “that was great.”
The Dodgers are still contemplating exactly how they will integrate Ohtani — who is expected to be ready to hit in time for opening day, and return to a big league mound by May — back into the starting rotation.
Roberts said the team is aiming to have Ohtani face hitters in live batting practice before camp ends next month. Once the regular season begins, they will try to find more simulated environments to help him build up, rather than sending him on a standard minor league rehab assignment that would force him to miss MLB games as a DH.
“It’s going to be unique and we’re going to have to do it on the fly,” 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.
Follow along for the latest news as the Dodgers open spring training at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix following their World Series-winning campaign.
“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.”
In the bigger picture, those are dilemmas the Dodgers are happy to have.
For a year, they’ve waited to watch Ohtani resume full-time two-way duties. And even after getting just a small taste of it Saturday, anticipation for his return to the mound was already starting to build.
“Given everything he’s done in his career so far and what he’s done last year, I think he’s in a really good spot and nobody’s going to assume otherwise,” Prior said. “He’s gonna go out and pitch at a really high level and he’s gonna go out and hit at a really high level.”
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