Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani ‘feeling good,’ eyes 50 preseason at-bats

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Shohei Ohtani participated in live batting practice for the second time Wednesday and threw just six pitches, throwing a single swing that produced a hard grounder to the right side against the Los Dodgers left-hander Angeles Ryan Yarbrough.

This counted as progress.

Ohtani, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, wants to complete 50 spring batting practices to feel ready for the regular season. The five at-bats he threw during two live BP sessions essentially count, he said, as do the indoor sessions on a Dodgers pitching machine that can mimic the features of the field. The most important thing, Ohtani said through his interpreter, is that his body “feels good” and “reacts in the right way” when he swings.

Ohtani said, “I feel like I have more than enough time to get 50 at-bats.”

Ohtani, 29, is not expected to play in any of the Dodgers' Cactus League games this week, but could play soon after. He said he was “right on schedule” in his desire to be ready by the time the Dodgers open their season with a two-game series against the division rival San Diego Padres in South Korea, from March 20.

“I feel good at the plate, I see the ball well,” said Ohtani, who will also spend the 2024 season recovering from elbow surgery as a pitcher. “At the elbow, there is nothing new.”