Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani slowly but surely continues to work his way toward his first regular season pitching appearance since Sept. 2023. Prior to Tuesday’s game against the San Diego Padres, Ohtani delivered 44 pitches across three innings of a simulated game, according to MLB’s Sonja Chen. Tuesday marked the third time that he’s faced live batters as part of his recovery process from the elbow surgery that has prevented him from pitching since joining the Dodgers.
Ohtani, 30, has nevertheless remained a key piece of the Los Angeles attack. He entered Tuesday having hit .291/.387/.628 (184 OPS+) with 23 home runs and 11 stolen bases in his first 65 games. His contributions have been worth an estimated 3.1 Wins Above Replacement, according to the estimates housed at Baseball Reference.
Ohtani wasn’t the only rehabbing Dodgers pitcher getting some work in on Tuesday. Left-hander Blake Snell, sidelined since April 2 with shoulder inflammation, threw his first bullpen session in months. Snell tossed 15 times and told reporters that he wasn’t pain-free until two weeks ago.
Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, signed with the Dodgers over the offseason. He was limited to just a pair of starts before requiring his stint on the IL. He surrendered seven runs on 10 hits and eights walks across nine innings of work.
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Ohtani and Snell are two of nine Dodgers starting pitcher options who are presently unavailable to take the mound. The others include Roki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Kyle Hurt, River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan, and Gavin Stone.
The Dodgers entered Tuesday with a 40-27 record on the regular season, putting them 1 ½ games up in the National League West. Our Mike Axisa detailed some of Los Angeles’ recent struggles earlier on Tuesday.