GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The sight of Shohei Ohtani pitching in a Dodgers uniform is still somewhat of a novelty, as the two-way superstar was strictly a designated hitter while rehabbing from right elbow surgery in his first year with the club. Adding to the intrigue, he appears to be making a change to his delivery.
In his first two bullpen sessions of spring, Ohtani has mostly been throwing from the windup. He has primarily pitched out of the stretch in Major League games, but he plans to incorporate the windup once he returns to the mound with the Dodgers.
"Traditionally, I've been throwing from the stretch a lot," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, "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."
Ohtani is expected to return to pitching sometime in May, and he should be ready for Opening Day as a hitter. The Dodgers open the season against the Cubs in Tokyo from March 18-19.
Whether Ohtani sticks with the windup will depend on how his body responds to the motion as he continues to ramp up his intensity in throwing sessions. He's been sitting around 92-94 mph and only throwing fastballs in the bullpen, which the team is pleased with at this point in his progression.
Adding a windup to Ohtani's delivery could potentially alleviate pressure on his upper body while simultaneously generating more momentum -- and perhaps even more velocity.
As he works his way back to the mound, Ohtani has made a point of checking that the metrics of his pitches more or less match up with how he feels. The "real and feel," as he puts it, helps him understand where he is in his progression.
Ohtani believes that if he continues to hit his benchmarks in bullpen sessions, and eventually live batting practice, he should remain on track with his rehab despite not being expected to pitch in Cactus League games or go on a Minor League rehab assignment.
"I've actually done this in the past when I had my past injury," said Ohtani, who underwent Tommy John surgery as a Major League rookie in 2018. "So I’m not too concerned about it. It’s about just being able to confirm the ‘real-and-the-feel’ aspect of it as we go into different stages. That’s my No. 1 concern."
The feel is equally important for the Dodgers, who have no blueprint to follow when it comes to bringing Ohtani back to his full capabilities as a two-way player. It's difficult to return from a second major elbow surgery, and the left shoulder surgery that Ohtani had last November further complicated matters by delaying his offseason program.
"I think that with Shohei, given that he hits and his bat is valuable, that erring on the side of caution is the course of action we’re going to take," manager Dave Roberts said. "So whether we feel that he’s ahead of schedule -- he’s Shohei Ohtani, he recovers well -- we’re still very cautious.”
Ohtani put up his best season as a hitter last year, reaching a new gear in his running game to become the founding member of the 50-50 club. He won his third unanimous MVP Award after hitting .310 with a 1.036 OPS and a 190 OPS+.
So while there's less concern for Ohtani's future as a hitter, there's some question of how he'll adjust to handling both workloads once more. The Dodgers are planning to let him pitch and hit in the same game, once he's physically ready.
Because Ohtani's bat is so important to the Dodgers -- he's slated to return to the leadoff spot, with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman behind him -- the team must balance keeping him in the lineup with building him back up to a starting role.
The Dodgers envision using simulated games to get Ohtani where he needs to be, but they're largely relying on feedback from their superstar to ensure that he's on the right track.
"I think a lot of that will be conversations with Sho," general manager Brandon 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."