NEW YORK – The rehabilitation of shot of Shohei Ohtani of a second reconstruction of the major ligament of the elbow takes its last tangible step.
The double-sensitive star of Los Angeles Dodgers is expected to face the strikers on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field, his first time since his second operation in September 2023 and the largest chronology indicator for the moment when the reigning national MVP could present for the first time in a Dodger uniform.
Ohtani had to start at some point after the stars break. The MVP quarter has slowly progressed its progress under the recommendation of the team officials and Dr. Neal Elattrache, who made the revision of Tommy John and the internal bustle procedure.
The pace of ohtani’s rehabilitation by the organization was partially influenced by wanting to maintain the productive bat of Ohtani at the top of their range as well as by surgery that Ohtani suffered to repair a torn labrum on his left shoulder (non-nap) last November. Ohtani has remained as effective as ever to marble, reaching 17 circuits to equalize Kyle Schwarber for the head of the major league. He only follows his teammate, Freddie Freeman, among the national league strikers with a 1.053 OPS entering Friday.
The rise in power began. Ohtani, which is comfortably seated around 94 to 95 MPH in most enclosure sessions of the lifts, recently incorporated breaking up of the mound and launched 50 throws in its last complete session last Saturday. Now, he will face some of his teammates while reinforcing the intensity and workload for the section of the Dodgers.
However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Friday: “I don’t think anyone know what the next two months look like.”
A certainty is that Ohtani will not take an assignment of rehabilitation of the minor leagues to accumulate, which means that there will be several situations as Saturday when the Japanese superstar will face its teammates or will select minor Dodgers leaguers a few hours before driving as a designated teammate.
“Obviously, accumulation is important,” said Roberts. “But it is also that he takes five at-bats in a match.”
Ohtani’s print of pitching could still have an impact on the frequency it is in the programming, Roberts saying that there could be occasions so that Ohtani is made a day off during this construction period if he communicates an excess of fatigue with the organization’s medical staff.
History would safeguard the need for prudence. Ohtani’s recovery of his Tommy John 2018 surgery included a similar interruption of the typical calendar – the COVVI -19 2020 pandemic changed its schedule – and Ohtani returned to make only two brief appearances on the mound before a forearm strain ends its season with mounds in the forearm. Ohtani also had a hard time as a striker this season before returning to two -way domination in 2021 on the way to its first MVP prize.
The Dodgers also have a recent example of the check -in balance sheet for launchers who initially emerged from a second reconstruction of the major ligament, while Walker Buehler fought for a large part of the regular season of 2024 before becoming a hero in playoffs during the race of the Dodgers World Series and winning a one -year case, $ 21.05 million with the Boston Red SOX.
The return of Ohtani waiting for Ohtani is one of the many that the dodgers expect this summer from the great recent signatures, with Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki on the list of injuries with shoulder disorders. Glasnow launched his first enclosure session of lifts on Friday since his placement on IL and left encouraged, by Roberts. Snell remains in the early stages of a launch progression, while Sasaki has not picked up a baseball since its landing on the injured list a week and a half ago.
Their relative uncertainty makes Ohtani’s imminent yield all the more important.
“I think we are all impatient to see what it looks like the strikers,” said Roberts. “But when he decides to repel him, I am very worried with that too. But everything is in his schedule. This is really the case.”
(Photo of Shohei Ohtani Throwing on May 17: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
