LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani continued his tradition of a Saturday bullpen session, and his outing this time at Dodger Stadium was his longest to date. He threw approximately 50 pitches, split over two simulated innings.
The long rehab road back from September 2023 Tommy John surgery restarted again in earnest on March 29. Ohtani has thrown a full bullpen every Saturday since except for April 19 when the Dodgers were in Arlington, Texas and Ohtani was on paternity leave for the birth of his daughter.
The Saturday schedule is by design, to mimic the roughly once-per-week start he’ll likely make once he’s back as a two-way player in the majors. Ohtani has also thrown a lighter bullpen session roughly every Wednesday to simulate a between-starts side session.
Getting up to two innings and 50 pitches is a step forward for Ohtani, who still hasn’t faced any hitters yet. It’s an admittedly odd situation to be in, as Ohtani can’t make minor league rehab starts while he’s an active major league hitter, so everything leading up to his return will be of the simulated-game variety.
Then again, Ohtani is an unprecedented player, at least in the modern era.
Links & notes
Former Dodgers pitcher Adam Liberatore, who went to high school in Pennsylvania, was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Ohtani went hitless in six at-bats on Saturday, the first time he has done so in a nine-inning game. He had an 0-for-8 game on August 30, 2019 with the Angels, but that game lasted 15 innings and Ohtani was 0-for-5 in the first nine innings.