Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Unlikely to pitch in Tokyo
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Manager Dave Roberts stated he's unlikely to deploy Ohtani (shoulder) as a pitcher during the team's opening series against the Cubs in Tokyo, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.
The Dodgers are expected to exercise caution as the club brings him back to the mound following Tommy John surgery, so this report isn't a big surprise. Roberts also mentioned that once Ohtani is cleared to pitch, he expects to utilize the reigning MVP in the DH slot on the days he pitches.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Captures third MVP award
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Ohtani was unanimously named the National League's 2024 Most Value Player on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
In the first year of his record-setting contract with the Dodgers, Ohtani won his first MVP in the National League unanimously. Having won two MVPs with the Angels prior, the superstar has now won an MVP in three of the last four seasons. He did so without throwing a pitch for the entirety of the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and became the first designated hitter to win the award. The 30-year-old produced the first ever 50-50 season in MLB history, and he fell just four points shy of a Triple Crown with a .310 average. While speaking with the media Thursday, Ohtani noted that his goal is to be cleared to pitch by Opening Day, but that both he and the Dodgers will take things cautiously as he recovers from the shoulder surgery he underwent after the World Series to repair a torn labrum, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Surgery likely to delay pitching
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Ohtani's left shoulder surgery is likely to delay his pitching debut for the Dodgers, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Ohtani underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a labrum tear in his left (non-throwing) shoulder, an injury he suffered during Game 2 of the World Series. While the expectation is that he will be ready to serve as a designated hitter during spring training and Opening Day, the timetable for Ohtani's first start on the mound for the Dodgers looks cloudy. The team elected to pause Ohtani's throwing program during the playoffs as he comes back from Tommy John surgery so as to not overtax him, and now the shoulder surgery will further delay his throwing program indefinitely. The Dodgers have a two-game series versus the Cubs in Japan from March 18-19 and then have their domestic opener against the Tigers on March 27. GM Brandon Gomes this week didn't rule out Ohtani being ready to pitch by the domestic opener, but Gomes "did not cast an optimistic picture of that possibility," per Harris. Ohtani was going to have workload restrictions in place on the mound in his first year back from Tommy John surgery anyway, so in that respect the delay isn't a huge deal. However, the situation creates an air of uncertainty with the two-way superstar's status. More clarity on Ohtani's situation should be available later in the offseason and into spring training.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Undergoes surgery on shoulder
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Ohtani underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.
Ohtani's injury, which he suffered in Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 26, was initially described as a slight dislocation of his left shoulder. The labrum tear was a result of the dislocation, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports. After suffering the injury, the NL MVP frontrunner recorded just one hit across 11 at-bats in the final three games of the series. The Dodgers expect he will be ready for spring training.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: In Game 3 lineup Monday
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Ohtani (shoulder) will start at designated hitter and bat leadoff Monday in Game 3 of the World Series versus the Yankees, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
Ohtani was forced to depart Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday due to a left shoulder subluxation suffered on a slide into second base. However, an MRI confirmed that he doesn't have any structural damage and he was able to go through 80 percent of his daily routine Sunday without issue. Ohtani will not be allowed to attempt any stolen bases Monday and perhaps not for the remainder of the series, per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com, but he's feeling well enough to give it a go at the plate as the Dodgers try to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: On track for Game 3
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Ohtani (shoulder) is "in a great spot and will be playing" Monday in Game 3 of the World Series against the Yankees, Karl Ravech of ESPN reports.
The presumed National League MVP suffered a left shoulder subluxation on a slide while trying to steal second base during Game 2 on Saturday, but it appears he'll be ready to go for Game 3 after undergoing an MRI. Ohtani has gone 13-for-50 (.260 average) with 12 walks, three homers, 10 RBI and 13 runs through his first 13 playoff games.
Ohtani suffered a left shoulder subluxation in the seventh inning of Saturday's 4-2 win over the Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports. He went 0-for-3 with a walk in the victory.
Ohtani sustained the injury while trying to steal second base after reaching base on a walk. Manager Dave Roberts noted after the win that the strength in Ohtani's shoulder appeared to be good, but the NL MVP frontrunner is slated to undergo an MRI on Sunday. The upcoming tests should help determine whether Ohtani will be available for the remainder of the World Series.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Exits Game 2
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Ohtani left Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday after suffering an injury to his shoulder, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Ohtani attempted to steal second base in the seventh inning and suffered the injury. He slid feet first but went past second base and grabbed the bag to not be tagged out. Ken Rosenthal reported on the telecast that Ohtani is dealing with a shoulder issue, but the severity is not yet known, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Won't pitch in World Series
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Manager Dave Roberts confirmed Thursday that Ohtani (elbow) will not pitch in the World Series, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Ohtani has always been a long shot to pitch at any point in 2024 while recovering from elbow surgery. He should continue to serve as the Dodgers' leadoff man in the World Series and could be ready to retake the mound in early 2025.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Finishes with 59 steals
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Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Rockies.
Ohtani swiped 11 bases over his last 11 games of the season, ending the year with 59 steals on 63 attempts. He hit a mind-blowing .583 (28-for-48) in that span while adding six home runs and 20 RBI. He played in a career-high 159 games, posting a .310/.390/.646 slash line with 54 homers, 130 RBI, 134 runs scored, 38 doubles and seven triples. By most measures, it was a career year for Ohtani at the plate, and he will look to continue leading the Dodgers' offense as he gets ready for his first MLB postseason.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Breaks record held by Ichiro
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Ohtani went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, four RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 11-4 win over the Rockies.
While he took full advantage of a game at Coors Field with his bat, it was Ohtani's second-inning steal that allowed him to claim another record. With 57 pilfers on the season, Ohtani became the new single-season leader among Japanese-born players, topping the 56 steals recorded by future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki in his 2001 AL Rookie of the Year and MVP campaign. The rest of Ohtani's numbers aren't too shabby either -- with two games left on the Dodgers' regular-season schedule, he's slashing .309/.390/.651 with 54 homers, 130 RBI and 133 runs. Luis Arraez's .314 batting average is all that's standing between Ohtani and a Triple Crown season.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Comes through in clutch
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Ohtani went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, a stolen base and a run scored in Wednesday's win over the Padres while also drawing a walk.
Ohtani walked in his first trip to the plate and advanced to second on a wild pitch from Dylan Cease before then scoring the Dodgers' first run on a Teoscar Hernandez single. The superstar slugger continued to come through in the clutch throughout the contest, giving Los Angeles the lead with an RBI double in the fourth, and again in the sixth with an RBI single while also going on to swipe his 56th bag of the campaign. Ohtani has now hit safely in eight straight games, batting .558 (19-for-34) over that stretch with six homers, 17 RBI, 12 runs and eight stolen bases. He's also registered multiple hits in four of his last six contests.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Another monster performance
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Ohtani went 4-for-5 with a solo home run, two stolen bases and two runs scored in Sunday's 6-5 win over the Rockies.
Ohtani's first three hits went for singles before he uncorked a 432-foot blast to center field to open up the bottom of the ninth and tie the game. He's now up to six home runs, seven steals and 15 RBI over his last six games, and he's totaled 16 hits over that span as well. His two steals Sunday brought him up to 55 for the year and he now needs just a pair of home runs to lock up a 55-55 campaign.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Swipes another bag
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Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run and a stolen base Saturday in a loss to Colorado.
Ohtani became the majors' first 50-50 player Thursday, and he seems intent not to stop there. He has stolen at least one base in each of his past four contests and is up to 53 steals on the campaign, second-most in the majors behind Elly De La Cruz. Ohtani has racked up 30 stolen bases since he was last caught stealing July 22 against San Francisco (54 games ago), and he's added 22 homers along with 52 RBI and 48 runs during that span.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Stays scorching hot
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Ohtani went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, a stolen base and an additional run scored in Friday's 6-4 win over the Rockies.
Though he didn't quite match the 6-for-6, three-homer, 10-RBI, two-steal masterpiece that helped him establish the 50-50 club Thursday, Ohtani's performance Friday was another excellent one. Ohtani is not showing any sign of fatigue in the final month of the season -- he now has eight home runs, nine steals and 24 RBI while batting .324 over 18 contests in September. With 52 home runs and 52 steals on his ledger, Ohtani still has time to push for a 55-55 campaign with eight games remaining on the Dodgers' schedule. He's likely to play regularly as long as home-field advantage through the National League playoffs is up for grabs.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Pitching in 2024 'very unlikely'
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Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said Friday on MLB Network that it's "very unlikely" Ohtani (elbow) will pitch during the postseason.
Ohtani has been throwing off a mound and is expected to face hitters soon as he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery. Manager Dave Roberts said earlier this month that the chances of Ohtani pitching out of the bullpen some during the playoffs are "not zero," but it was always an extreme long shot and Gomes added that it's "not in the plans as of now." On Thursday, Ohtani become the first player in major-league history to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season. He'll return to being a two-way player in 2025.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Starts up 50-50 club
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Ohtani went 6-for-6 with three home runs, four runs scored, 10 RBI and two stolen bases Thursday in a 20-4 win against the Marlins.
Ohtani entered the game two home runs and one stolen base short of recording the first 50-50 season in MLB history. He quickly reached 50 steals for the season in the first inning, when he swiped third base after reaching base on a leadoff double. Ohtani then went yard in back-to-back frames later in the contest to clinch the impressive milestone. After slugging a three-run home run off position player Vidal Brujan in his final at-bat in the eighth inning, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to record three home runs and two stolen bases in the same game.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Takes another step toward 50-50
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Ohtani went 1-for-5 with a stolen base Wednesday in an 8-4 win over Miami.
Ohtani didn't take long to continue his advancement on the majors' first 50-50 season, singling to left field to open the game and promptly swiping second base before advancing to third on a throwing error. His teammates were unable to bring him home, however, and Ohtani didn't reach base again in the contest. The Japanese superstar is up to 48 home runs and 49 thefts on the campaign with 10 regular-season games remaining on the schedule.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Up to 48 homers
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Ohtani went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 11-9 loss to the Marlins.
Ohtani got Los Angeles on the board in the third inning with a two-run blast off Darren McCaughan, cutting the Marlins' lead to 4-2. Ohtani is up to 48 long balls on the season, leaving him two home runs and two stolen bases shy of becoming the first player in major-league history to post a 50-50 season. Ohtani is now slashing .287/.372/.611 on the campaign with 110 RBI and 119 runs scored across 675 plate appearances.
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Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Stays hot with three RBI
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Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, a walk and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over the Cubs.
Ohtani wasted no time in getting the Dodgers on the board, launching a 405-foot leadoff homer off Jordan Wicks in the opening frame. The superstar slugger would then draw a leadoff walk in the second before going on to swipe his 48th bag of the campaign, and he later added a two-run single in the third to extend the Dodgers' lead. Ohtani has now recorded multiple hits in four of his last six games, batting .333 (8-for-24) over that stretch with three homers, five RBI and five runs scored. He's also gone deep five times over his last 12 contests.
