Concrete Shohei Ohtani plan might give Dodgers fans reason to be excited about return to mound

Shohei Ohtani reached a major milestone in his journey back to the pitcher's mound over the weekend, throwing live batting practice for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery after the 2023 season.

Ohtani has a 3.01 ERA across 481 2/3 innings pitched in his MLB career, all with the Los Angeles Angels. The three-time MVP has yet to pitch in a game for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed him to a 10-year-deal ahead of the 2024 season and don't want to risk further injury to their $700 million investment.

Ohtani has excelled in the DH role for the Dodgers, becoming the first player in history to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season last year, to the point where some have begun to cast doubt on his future as a two-way star. However, after Sunday's live BP session, Ohtani reaffirmed his eagerness to return to pitch in an MLB game for the first time since August 2023.

“Just really felt good overall, just looking at the overall execution,” Ohtani said through his interpreter (via Gabe Smallson of Dodgers Nation). “It was a really good first step, and looking forward to the next one. I haven’t thrown (to hitters) in a while, so it was nice to be able to feel like I was a pitcher. I just kind of remembered those days when I used to have a lot of good memories as a pitcher.”

Concrete Shohei Ohtani plan might give Dodgers fans reason to be excited about return to mound

As for when exactly Dodgers fans can expect to see Ohtani take the mound, the 30-year-old provided an update on his throwing program. that indicates he could be pitching in real games sooner rather than later.

“I’m going to do live BPs once a week moving forward,” Ohtani said (via Smallson). “On the road, I’m sure it’s going to be a little bit difficult to get quality hitters to stand in at times, but at home I should be able to get good minor-league hitters to stand in.”

Now that Ohtani is facing live hitters once a week, Dodgers fans have even more reason to be excited. An exact timeline for his return remains unclear, but it's reasonable to expect Ohtani to be pitching for Los Angeles sometime after the All-Star break.

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