Los Angeles Dodgers fans have every reason to be excited about the upcoming MLB 2024 season after their team acquired Shohei Ohtani during free agency.
The Dodgers signed the Japanese sensation despite him still being in the process of recovering from an elbow and left oblique injury.
Also, the franchise signed him for a record-breaking and largest contract ever in sports history.
A Shohei Ohtani injury update from manager Dave Roberts from last week will have supporters feeling more thrilled as the new season nears.
"He's a lot further along than I think any of us-maybe not named Shohei-would have expected," Roberts said last week.
"He's worked really hard, very diligent in his work, so he's ahead of schedule."
Fast forward to Sunday, Ohtani proved that his recovery is going well by participating in a hitting practice.
The 28-year-old is "very confident" when it comes to the timeline for his recovery.
Ohtani plans to be there for the team when they hold their MLB 2024 season opener in Seoul, South Korea, against the San Diego Padres on March 20.
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His performance in hitting practice gave his teammates a preview of what is to come for them at the bat, hitting ten homers out of the 21 throws.
"I was planning on, like I said earlier, to swing on the lighter side," Ohtani said through an interpreter.
"But I felt like the swings were feeling really good, which is a really good sign. I think it's trending towards me being ready for Opening Day."
Ohtani on Spring Training
Ohtani and the team doctors are still wary, though.
Roberts said his designated hitter will not play in their spring training opener and will not do live batting for now.
Still, the manager feels optimistic about the two-way star who hit an American League-best .304 with 44 home runs last year with former team Los Angeles Angels.
The Japanese sensation can hit but would have to abandon pitching for the whole 2024 season.
He underwent elbow surgery on September 19 last year, a move that shut him out for the rest of 2023. It was his second elbow injury surgery after getting one in October 2018 during his rookie year with the Angels.
"The ultimate plan after deliberation with Shohei, was to repair the issue at hand and to reinforce the healthy ligament in place while adding viable tissue for the longevity of the elbow," said Dr. Neal Elattrache who did the operation.
Pitching situation in the Dodgers squad
The Dodgers signed him because of his incomparable batting and pitching capabilities. The latter will be absent in the 2024 season, but the team has a strategy for that.
They signed Ohtani's fellow Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto from Nippon Professional Baseball's Orix Buffaloes.
The 25-year-old also participated in their pre-season training, and he left the team's established stars, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, starstruck to the point that they gave him a standing ovation.
Freeman compared his pitching ability to that of a javelin thrower because of the force he used.
For his part, Betts described what he saw as "crazy stuff."
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