GLENDALE, Ariz. — Something will look different about Shohei Ohtani when he goes back to pitching in games and it won’t just be the Dodgers uniform.
During his first two bullpen sessions this spring, Ohtani has thrown primarily out of the windup. During his days pitching for the Angels, Ohtani almost exclusively pitched out of the stretch.
“Traditionally, I’ve been throwing from the stretch a lot,” Ohtani said through his interpreter on Thursday. “But as part of being a baseball player, I do want to explore different options, different avenues, to see if I could grow as a player. I do that on the pitching side as well as as a hitter.”
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said it was not something suggested by the team “but I imagine he’s just trying to get some rhythm and feeling for his arm stroke in a better way.”
Ohtani said he plans to continue using the windup and take it into games when he reaches that stage.
“But again, with increasing the intensity, I do want to see how the body responds, how I respond to it,” he said. “So yes, as of now, that’s the plan.”
Ohtani is not expected to make his post-surgery pitching debut with the Dodgers until some time in May and the only games he will participate in before then are likely to be simulated games. The Dodgers do not plan to have Ohtani pitch in Cactus League games or go on a minor-league rehab assignment before he returns to MLB as a pitcher.
“There’s some complicating factors,” Gomes said. “Looking at the schedule, we have a general sense of what we’d like to do right now. But obviously once we get there, (we will) continue to talk to Sho and build him up so that – he’s not going to be able to go on a rehab assignment – he feels as prepared as possible when he goes into a regular game.”
Ohtani actually could go on a rehab assignment as a pitcher while staying in the Dodgers’ lineup at DH. MLB added that rule for two-way players when Ohtani was returning from his first Tommy John surgery in 2020. The pandemic led to the cancellation of the minor-league season and the Angels never put it to use.
Gomes said the Dodgers have not even looked into using the rule because they anticipate using simulated games alone to get Ohtani ready to return.
“I think a lot of that will be conversations with Sho,” Gomes said. “But I think understanding that these (sim) games will be treated as your rehab games, there will be an inherent uptick in effort. And if he isn’t getting out of those what he needs, then we can pivot. But that will be the plan right now and we’ll see how it’s landing with him, how he’s feeling and if we need to make an adjustment we certainly will.”
SHO STARTER
Mookie Betts batted first in Thursday’s Cactus League opener against the Chicago Cubs, but Roberts said Ohtani will go back to the leadoff spot once the DH is ready to hit in games.
Betts started last season as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter with Ohtani second. But Ohtani moved into the leadoff spot when Betts was hit by a pitch and suffered a fractured hand in mid-June. Ohtani stayed there for the rest of the season.
This year, Roberts said he plans to go with Ohtani, Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez, in that order, at the top of the lineup.
“I think it just makes the most sense and is the hardest to navigate (for opposing teams),” Roberts said. “It gives Shohei five at-bats a night.”
KERSHAW CONTRACT
When Clayton Kershaw re-signed with the Dodgers last week, it was a one-year deal with a base salary of only $7.5 million. But Kershaw could earn up to $16 million in 2025 if he reaches the bonus levels included in the contract, according to The Associated Press.
Kershaw will get $1 million each for making 13, 14, 15 and 16 starts. The three-time Cy Young Award winner will receive an additional $2.5 million for being on the active roster for 30 days and an additional $1 million each for being on the active roster for 60 and 90 days.
Kershaw had surgery on his left foot and knee in November and is not expected to make his season debut until May at the earliest. Last year, he didn’t pitch for the Dodgers until July after undergoing shoulder surgery the previous fall. He made only seven starts before the pain in his foot ended his season at the end of August.
He averaged 27 starts per season in the 15 full seasons before last year.