GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Dodgers weren't expecting to welcome Shohei Ohtani back to the fold quite this soon.
Ohtani, along with newly anointed Opening Day starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, was away from Dodgers camp for most of Spring Training while playing for Samurai Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Japan had aspirations of defending its title from the 2023 Classic, but it was eliminated by Venezuela in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.
Perhaps that will give Ohtani and Yamamoto some additional motivation as they bid for a three-peat with the Dodgers.
"It never feels good not to win it, the WBC," manager Dave Roberts said. "But I think that their goal is to win a championship this year for the Dodgers. I think that now their focus is just solely the Dodgers. So I don't know. I'm sure they're disappointed, but I still think that they're going to be focused on winning this year."
For the Dodgers, there's a silver lining to Japan's early exit: It ensured that Ohtani will be able to start a game on the mound this spring.
Ohtani appeared in just one game before departing for the Classic, going 1-for-3 with a single in L.A.'s spring opener. Because Japan was expected to go all the way, the Dodgers were not planning on having Ohtani pitch in a Cactus League game, although they were hoping to at least get him on the mound for one of next week's Freeway Series exhibitions in Southern California.
While he was with Japan, Ohtani kept his arm active by throwing bullpen sessions. Most recently, he threw four simulated innings of live batting practice last Thursday in Miami. He could pitch as soon as later this week in Arizona, or perhaps more likely, in one of those Freeway Series games against the Angels from March 22-24.
From the beginning of Spring Training, the Dodgers have said that Ohtani would begin the regular season in the rotation, even though his path to building up his arm was unclear due to the Classic. They saw him thrive despite an unconventional ramp-up last year, when he essentially completed his rehab from a second major elbow surgery in games at the big league level.
But now that they've confirmed Ohtani will see some spring action as a pitcher, the Dodgers can expect more length out of him from the beginning.
"Last year, we had the plan to start from one inning to keep him with us active and playing. I think this year, we’re certainly north of that," Roberts said. "I don’t see how we won’t be able to get three or four innings from him in a Major League game. So that’s certainly a better jumping off point than last year. We’ll see how it goes."