A day after making history with an incredible grand slam, Shohei Ohtani returned to the mound.
Ohtani threw 10 pitches in a workout at Dodger Stadium before the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 9-8 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday afternoon. While the workout was brief, it was Ohtani’s first workout since undergoing elbow surgery last fall.
Ohtani underwent surgery to repair a torn uterine collateral ligament in his elbow in September 2023, and he is not expected to pitch again until next season. Ohtani went 10-5 in 23 starts with a 3.14 ERA in 132 innings pitched in his final season on the mound in 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels. He signed a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December, and he is hitting for the team as he recovers and prepares to pitch again next season.
That stretch of his season has gone incredibly well, making him the overwhelming favorite to win National League MVP honors. Ohtani became the fastest player in Major League Baseball history to join the 40-40 club Friday night after hitting a grand slam to beat the Rays at Dodger Stadium. He is just the sixth player in league history to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a single season, and he beat them all by more than three weeks. He entered Saturday’s game batting .292 with a .992 OPS. Only Aaron Judge has hit more homers than Ohtani this season, and only Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz has stolen more bases.
Ohtani then hit his 41st home run of the season in the fifth inning Saturday night, suddenly giving the Dodgers a one-run lead. At 338 feet, the home run was remarkably the shortest of his career.
The Dodgers entered Saturday’s game against the Rays with a five-game winning streak and a 77-52 record, giving them a 3.5-game lead in the NL West. Despite Ohtani’s fifth-inning home run, the Rays forced extra innings and then won in the 10th on a two-run home run by Jose Caballero.
While it will be some time before Ohtani steps on the mound, and it’s unclear whether he’ll have any early restrictions when he does, Saturday’s trip to the bullpen marked another big step in his recovery.
