It's here, Los Angeles Dodgers fans, it's finally here: Shohei Ohtani is returning to the mound for the first time in blue and white.

That's right, while the Japanese-born slugger was still a dominant enough offensive player to earn NL MVP last year, his real value comes as a two-way player, with a unique ability to be as impactful throwing the ball as he is hitting it.

Discussing how it feels to see his best player return to his two-way glory after almost two seasons on the mend, Dave Roberts took a page from an Orange County legend, noting that when Ohtani takes the mound for his first pitch in a Dodgers uniform in front of his home crowd, Elysian Park is going to be “bananas.”

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“It's very exciting. I think that for me, I'm still a baseball fan first. I really am,” Roberts declared via Bobby Sheridan. “The anticipation here for the game is, man, it's going to be bananas when it happens. There's been a lot of anticipation. I think we've done it the right way as far as kind of our process.”

When, you may wonder, was the last time Ohtani pitched in a professional game? Well, that would be August of 2023, when the then-Los Angeles Angels player went 1.1 innings on the 23rd before leaving the game with arm fatigue. Eventually diagnosed with a UCL tear, Ohtani underwent surgery to fix the issue and has been slowly working back from the injury ever since, including multiple sessions of batting practice and simulated innings to get ready for a return while still hitting every day.

How long will Ohtani play in his first game back against the San Diego Padres? Will he help to ease LA's major issues at the mound, eating up some much-needed innings to preserve Roberts' bullpen, or will he only last a few innings, with fans noting that his path back to prominence may take longer than some fans likely hope? Fans will find out soon enough.