Shohei Ohtani on track despite 'complicated' surgery - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani said he is «on schedule» in his attempt to return as a two-way player this season, despite what he described as a «complicated surgery» to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Ohtani, who spoke from the Los Angeles Dodgers' annual preseason fan event on Saturday, initially injured his non-throwing shoulder while sliding in Game 2 of the World Series, then played the next three games and underwent surgery on Nov. 5, six days after helping to deliver a championship.

The torn labrum added another layer of complication to a pitching rehab that already consisted of a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament, but the Dodgers expect Ohtani to hit by the start of the season — they'll open from Japan on March 18 — and pitch in their rotation by May.

«And it might be earlier,» Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Ohtani, who underwent his latest elbow surgery in September of 2023, threw multiple bullpen sessions before the Dodgers' postseason run last fall and started playing catch again in December. But he has yet to get off a mound this offseason, which makes it difficult to pinpoint a return to pitching.

«I think the biggest determinant is going to be when I first pitch my bullpen,» Ohtani said through an interpreter. «Then I think we're gonna really get a feel for when I'll be able to be on a big-league mound.»

When he does, Ohtani will join arguably the deepest, most talented rotation in the sport. And before then, he'll lead arguably the deepest, most talented lineup in the sport.

His presence now symbolizes the Dodgers' elevation into another financial stratosphere.

Since signing Ohtani to a highly deferred 10-year, $700 million contract in December of 2023, the Dodgers have added