As the Los Angeles Dodgers get ready to kick off Spring Training on Thursday, manager Dave Roberts and superstar Shohei Ohtani have come up with a plan to get the slugger ready in time for the team's opener in Korea, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:
“#Dodgers Dave Roberts said he had conversation with Shohei Ohtani and Ohtani wants 50 ABs in spring to be ready for opener in Korea. Could be combination of live BP, sim games on back field and Cactus League”
While he won't be pitching in 2024 due to his elbow injury, Ohtani is looking ready to have another monster season at the plate. Video of the Dodgers star going deep ahead of Spring Training went viral earlier this week.
Recovering from offseason elbow surgery isn't an easy thing to do, but there is precedent for the Dodgers slugger to follow.
Bryce Harper underwent Tommy John surgery after the 2022 season and missed the first part of 2023. Although Harper returned as a DH earlier than anyone expected him to, he still missed some time. So the fact that Ohtani isn't expected to miss any regular season action to open the new campaign is a positive for the Dodgers.
Ohtani has won two MVP awards over the past three years. Despite not changing cities, the fact that he's now playing for the World Series favorite Dodgers means that there is significant pressure on he, Roberts, and the rest of the team to bring another championship back to Los Angeles.
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