Shohei Ohtani's Spring Showdown Sets to Make Angels' Youngsters Legends!
Ohtani threw bullpen sessions to stretch out while with Samurai Japan during the WBC, preparing to beginning the season in the Dodgers' starting rotation.
Shohei Ohtani returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring training camp in Glendale, Arizona following Samurai Japan’s loss to Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic semifinals on Saturday. Japan was expected to advance to the WBC final, if not win its second consecutive tournament championship, so Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto are back with the Dodgers a bit sooner than anticipated. [ Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season ] Ohtani’s earlier return means that he will likely make one pitching appearance for the Dodgers during their seven remaining games in Cactus League play.
Shohei Ohtani is here (playing catch way off in the distance). Dave Roberts said he should DH in the next couple of days and throw a bullpen session soon. TBD when he pitches in a game, but the hope is he'll be stretched out to 3-4 innings for his first regular-season start.
pic. twitter. com/x0BVUTqxpI — Sonja Chen (@SonjaMChen) March 16, 2026 Manager Dave Roberts didn’t say when Ohtani could pitch.
Had Japan made it all the way through the WBC, the hope was that Ohtani would have been able to pitch in the three-game “Freeway Series” versus the Los Angeles Angels that ends the preseason slate. Now, however, he may pitch while the Dodgers are still in Arizona. Ohtani will likely throw a bullpen session first.