During their respective Spring Training media scrums this past week, both Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts hinted that 30-year-old international superstar Shohei Ohtani could be ready to return to action “sometime in May” – this following his most recent shoulder surgery on November 5, 2024.

“We’re going to go through his progression and be able to read and react. It’s not something that we’re going to set like an arbitrary date and say OK, now we got a fit from where we are now to that date,” Friedman said on Friday. “We’re just going to let him continue his progression, watch how he’s recovering. I’m sure that it will continue to be as good as it’s been to this point,” he added

“He’s progressing, he’s going through his progression. I don’t know when his first bullpen for us is. I don’t, like I said before, he’s not going to pitch in Tokyo (March 18 and 19),” Roberts told reporters on Wednesday

Prior to his November 5 shoulder surgery (his second), it was hoped (and reported) that Ohtani might be ready to return in his role as a two-way player “…to begin the 2025 season.” That hope could be in jeopardy and might not happen until mid season, if at all in 2025.

“I do feel like there’s some discomfort that I have to still overcome, [but] it’s not really debilitating,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “Just a limited range of motion. I’ve gone through it with the elbow before. With the shoulder, it’s a little bit more complicated. I do believe that’s the part that I have to be patient with.”

All of this said, here’s hoping that “…the most talented player to ever play this game” will indeed be ready to return to action “sometime in May.”

Play Ball!

  *  *  *  *  *  *