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Dodgers clearly rubbing salt in Angels' wounds with Shohei Ohtani debut announcement

Emma Lingan
Emma Lingan

Dodgers Way

Cleveland Guardians v Los Angeles Dodgers / John McCoy/GettyImages

At long last, three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani will finally make his 2025 Cactus League debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers this Friday – and he'll be facing his former team, the Los Angeles Angels.

Coincidence? Maybe. But probably not.

Yes, Ohtani has ben slowly building up to full strength after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, so the fact that he hasn't yet appeared in a Cactus League game isn't entirely surprising. But the Dodgers scheduling his spring debut to come against the team with whom he spent the first six years of his Major League career is peak pettiness from the reigning World Series champs. And we love it.

Dodgers clearly rubbing salt in Angels' wounds with Shohei Ohtani debut announcement

Ohtani will DH in his first game of spring training less than four months after undergoing a procedure to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, an injury he suffered sliding into second base during Game 2 of the World Series. He faced live pitching for the first time since his surgery earlier this week, and he remains on track to DH on Opening Day in Tokyo on March 18.

Playing exclusively as a DH in his first season with the Dodgers, Ohtani smacked 54 home runs and stole 59 bases last year en route to becoming the first-ever member of the Major League 50/50 club and winning his third unanimous MVP award and his first World Series ring.

The two-way star is also still working his way back from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in September 2023, and he likely won't make his pitching debut for the Dodgers until sometime in May. He has already thrown multiple bullpen sessions this spring.

Ohtani hasn't pitched in a Major League game since 2023, when he was a member of the Angels. As a pitcher, he is 38-19 with a 3.01 career ERA, including a 10-5 record and 3.14 ERA in 2023 before he was injured that August.

Ohtani's 2025 Catcus League debut will be nationally televised Friday at 5:05 p.m. PT on MLB Network.

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Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). A native of Washington, D.C. and current resident of Nashville, Tenn., she is also entering her seventh season as a credentialed NHL media member and currently covers the NHL’s Nashville Predators for The Hockey News. When she's not watching hockey, baseball or football, she enjoys podcasting, reading, going to the gym, consuming large amounts of coffee and taking long walks with her dog, Minkah. You can follow her @Emma_lingan on Twitter and Instagram.