GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Shohei Ohtani is a five-time All-Star, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a two-time World Series winner and a World Baseball Classic champion, giving him a sparkling baseball resume that no current player can touch.<\/p>\n
The only major honor he hasn\u2019t won? A Cy Young Award.<\/p>\n
Given his track record, it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise to see the two-way Japanese star add that trophy to his collection in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s fair to say he expects to be in the Cy Young conversation,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday. \u201cWe just want him to be healthy, make starts, and all the numbers and statistics will take care of themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, man, this guy is such a disciplined worker and expects the most from himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just 105 days after the Dodgers became MLB\u2019s first back-to-back champs in a quarter century \u2014 beating the Toronto Blue Jays in a thrilling Game 7 \u2014 Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the rest of the team\u2019s pitchers and catchers went through their first spring training workout at Camelback Ranch on Friday.<\/p>\n
Ohtani is expecting to be a full-time, two-way player for the first time since 2023. An elbow injury kept him off the mound for the 2024 season and he returned to pitching midway though last year, going 3-0 with a 4.43 ERA in the postseason to help the Dodgers capture their second straight World Series title.<\/p>\n
Roberts said an injury-free offseason \u2014 where he could focus on rest, recovery and strength \u2014 should make him even more formidable on the mound this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just looks strong, but not too much mass,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cWatching him throw, watching him run, his body is moving well. I think he\u2019s in a sweet spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old Ohtani munched on breakfast and laughed with teammates in the clubhouse before his bullpen session, fully comfortable in what are now familiar surroundings. He\u2019s entering his third season with the franchise that has helped him blossom into the biggest baseball phenomenon in decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was finally able to have a normal offseason,\u201d Ohtani said. \u201cAlthough the offseason was pretty short, I thought it was a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ohtani said he arrived at Camelback Ranch at the beginning of the month and Friday\u2019s bullpen \u2014 which he said went well \u2014 was his third of the spring. The goal is to throw live batting practice next week before he leaves to join Team Japan in Tokyo, where it will be playing in the World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n
He won\u2019t be pitching for Japan in the WBC \u2014 focusing solely on his work at the plate.<\/p>\n
Roberts said keeping Ohtani off the mound in the WBC was a collaborative decision that focused on his long-term health.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs much as people think that he\u2019s not human, he\u2019s still a human being who has had two major surgeries,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a long career ahead of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The timeline and schedule of the WBC \u2014 Team Japan could be playing from March 6-17 on two different continents \u2014 makes Ohtani\u2019s preparation for the Dodgers\u2019 opening day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 26 a challenge. Neither Roberts or Ohtani were sure what his throwing schedule would look like in Japan.<\/p>\n
Roberts said he\u2019s sure Ohtani will want to be ready to pitch at the beginning of the season, but the team would be flexible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s delicate,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cWe\u2019ll know more in the next couple weeks and see where the progression is at. But for us, there\u2019s not going to be any timeline or endline or finish line where he has to be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Dodgers enter the season as World Series favorites. They were big spenders on the free agent market once again, landing four-time All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker on a $240 million, four-year deal that further exacerbated the divide between baseball\u2019s haves and have nots. Los Angeles also nabbed star reliever Edwin D\u00edaz on a $69 million, three-year deal.<\/p>\n
D\u00edaz also threw a bullpen on Friday. He had a 1.63 ERA and 28 saves for the New York Mets last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys are anxious,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a long camp, longer than we\u2019ve had in recent years. We\u2019re trying to get guys to start slow and be intentional and methodical. That\u2019s kind of the message.\u201d<\/p>\n
Left-handed pitcher Alex Vesia was back with the Los Angeles Dodgers at spring training Friday, less than four months after the death of his infant daughter, Sterling, that caused him to miss last year\u2019s World Series.<\/p>\n
Vesia read an emotional statement after the team\u2019s first official workout, thanking his wife Kayla, the Dodgers, the Toronto Blue Jays and fans for their support during a difficult experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lessons we\u2019ve learned from this is that life can change in an instant for us,\u201d Vesia said. \u201cTen minutes is all it took. Sterling\u2019s soul was the most beautiful girl in the world. We got to hold her, change her diaper, read to her and love her. Our time together was far too short.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said missing the World Series was difficult but \u201can easy decision, because my family needed me.\u201d The Dodgers beat the Blue Jays in seven games to win their second straight title.<\/p>\n
Vesia also thanked the NFL\u2019s Los Angeles Rams, who sent him a jersey with all of the team\u2019s signatures, which he said he\u2019ll have framed in his home. The pitcher said he and his wife started therapy six weeks ago and that \u201ctalking to someone has made a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vesia encouraged those who were struggling with a difficult situation to talk to somebody.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to speak up,\u201d Vesia said. \u201cYour mental health matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vesia went 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 68 regular season games and 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in seven postseason appearances. The team announced on Oct. 23, the day before Game 1 against the Blue Jays, that he was not with the team in Toronto.<\/p>\n
Dodgers relievers wore Vesia\u2019s No. 51 on their caps in a tribute to their absent teammate. Blue Jays relievers joined them in the tribute for Game 6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Shohei Ohtani is a five-time All-Star, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a two-time World Series…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2288],"tags":[7526,2315,2309,5,2316,2323,3313,2437,2313,2325,62046,57,19,2310,2328,2304,2318,2308,2319,4,2305,2303,2307,2320,468,185,151,2311,2312,4820,313],"class_list":{"0":"post-573681","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb-postseason","8":"tag-alex-vesia","9":"tag-athletic-sports","10":"tag-ball-and-bat-games","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-baseball-competitions","13":"tag-baseball-events","14":"tag-baseball-field","15":"tag-baseball-leagues","16":"tag-baseball-playoffs-and-champions","17":"tag-baseball-teams","18":"tag-japan-national-baseball-team","19":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","20":"tag-major-league-baseball","21":"tag-major-league-baseball-competitions","22":"tag-major-league-baseball-playoffs","23":"tag-major-league-baseball-postseason","24":"tag-major-league-baseball-seasons","25":"tag-major-league-baseball-teams","26":"tag-major-league-baseball-teams-seasons","27":"tag-mlb","28":"tag-mlb-playoffs","29":"tag-mlb-postseason","30":"tag-outdoor-sports","31":"tag-pitcher","32":"tag-shohei-ohtani","33":"tag-sports","34":"tag-spring-training","35":"tag-team-sports","36":"tag-turf-sports","37":"tag-world-baseball-classic","38":"tag-yoshinobu-yamamoto"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}