NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani confronted hitters for the primary time in almost two years in a reside batting follow at Citi Subject on Sunday afternoon, a major step in his return from a second elbow reconstruction surgical procedure.
After a six-pitch warmup, Ohtani threw 22 pitches over 5 plate appearances to a few batters: Dodgers utilityman Hyeseong Kim, Dodgers catcher Dalton Speeding, and Dodgers game-planning and communication coach J.T. Watkins.
He pitched in entrance of a bunch of Dodgers onlookers — a mixture of gamers, coaches and entrance workplace executives — and dozens of Japanese reporters recording each second. Dodgers bullpen catcher Hamlet Marte was behind the plate.
Kim batted first and ripped a groundball again to Ohtani on the fifth pitch of the at-bat. Ohtani easily fielded it and simulated a throw to first base. The play drew a loud response from teammates. He then struck out Watkins, a 35-year-old former minor leaguer. Speeding, a rookie high prospect, additionally struck out on a breaking ball.
Kim slammed a line drive down the right-field line in his second at-bat that may’ve probably resulted in a double, which prompted Ohtani to jokingly ask if Teoscar Hernandez, the Dodgers’ proper fielder, might’ve caught it.
Ohtani accomplished the much-anticipated session by strolling Watkins on 5 pitches. He appeared happy as he walked off the sector having confronted hitters for the primary time as a Dodger. The reigning NL MVP hasn’t pitched in a significant league sport since Aug. 23, 2023, when he logged 1⅓ innings for the Los Angeles Angels.
Lower than a month later, he underwent his second elbow reconstruction surgical procedure in six years. Two months later, he and the Dodgers agreed to a 10-year, $700 million contract that pays Ohtani simply $2 million per season and defers the opposite $680 million. The current worth of the contract is estimated to be $460 million.
