Before the Dodgers played the Padres on Sunday in Peoria, morning work at Camelback Ranch included both Shohei Ohtani and Edwin Díaz pitching to hitters.
Ohtani did not make the trip to play in Peoria and be the designated hitter in part because he pitched two simulated innings against Dodgers hitters in his final day of this sting in camp. That’s part of his pitching ramp up toward the season which, like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, will be interrupted as the duo heads to Tokyo to be with Japan for pool play in the World Baseball Classic. Yamamoto will pitch once more for the Dodgers, on Friday, before departing.
But unlike Yamamoto, Ohtani won’t pitch during the WBC. So he’ll have to find time to build up his arm in preparation to pitch near the beginning of the regular season, in what will be his first full two-way season since 2023 with the Angels. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman on Tuesday at Camelback Ranch said Ohtani is expected to be ready to pitch in the rotation at the beginning of the season, even though the path to get there might not be traditional.
“For now we’ll continue his throwing progression, but not necessarily getting into games, and figure out what he’s able to accomplish while he’s in Japan on those off days,” Friedman said. “Then we’ll be to slide him here back into our rotation as quickly as possible.”
Manager Dave Roberts on Sunday talked about Ohtani leaving for Tokyo.
Meanwhile, Yamamoto will be pitching in games during the WBC, in addition to the one Cactus League start already under his belt Saturday and his upcoming Friday start in Scottsdale, such that when he returns he should be nearly fully built up for the start of the season through game action. How he got to this point already in camp was partly due to his offseason work.
To that end, Dylan Hernández of The California Post talked with Yamamoto’s longtime trainer Osamu Yada about the grueling offseason plan:
“In December, January,” Yada said, “he pushes himself to the point of complete exhaustion.”
The training program isn’t designed so that Yamamoto can take his turn in the rotation every six or seven days. The regimen is structured so that Yamamoto can peak in the second half of the season.
With spring training games now a few days underway, here is an essay I enjoyed from Michele Catalano about the start of the baseball season:
The arrival of spring training baseball sets off sonic, tactile memories — smells, sights, and sounds that are entwined with both spring and baseball. It ignites memories collected across more than 50 years as a fan of the sport. I store those recollections in a small compartment in my mind until the start of each season. And then, on some February morning, I open my eyes and the floodgates open, the light streams in.
Here’s a blast from the past from 58 years ago, offering a ticket deal for a stadium in Chavez Ravine that was entering its then seventh season.
The 19,630 folks who were at that May 18, 1968 game saw Don Drysdale pitch his second straight shutout, on his way to a record six shutouts in a row and 58 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. The Dodgers beat the Astros 1-0, with the only run coming in the sixth inning on a Wes Parker single, a sacrifice bunt, a groundout, then an error by shortstop Héctor Torres.