Shohei Ohtani’s swing looking good: Dodgers star homers in first spring at-bat
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PHOENIX — For all the awards he won last season, and all the ways he amazed the Dodgers and their fan base in his first season with the club, Shohei Ohtani faces almost as many questions as he embarks on the 2025 season.
After offseason shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, will he be as explosive at the plate in his second season in Los Angeles?
After being limited to only hitting in 2024, while recovering from a Tommy John surgery he underwent the year prior, will he be as dominant on the mound in his return to pitching?
Most of all, in what will be his first season as a two-way player again since 2023, will he still be able to handle a taxing workload that no other big-leaguer has attempted since the days of Babe Ruth?
2025 is a pivotal campaign for Max Muncy, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season and the Dodgers holding a $10 million club option for 2026.
To this point, any final answers remain unclear.
But on Friday night, in his first Cactus League appearance of the preseason, the 30-year-old superstar started to provide some promising indications. After one official spring at-bat, he already had his first 2025 home run.
“He does not cease to amaze,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani’s leadoff blast, an opposite-field drive that landed in the Dodgers’ left-field bullpen. “He really hasn’t missed a beat.”
As far as spring training games go, Friday qualified as a marquee contest. A packed crowd gathered at Camelback Ranch to watch the Dodgers and Angels square off for the first time. Dodgers catcher Will Smith was making his spring debut, after being held out of the first week of games because of a bone bruise on his ankle. Angels offseason signing Yusei Kikuchi was also kicking off his Cactus League campaign, beginning his preparation for the team’s opening day start in the regular season. His counterpart, Dustin May, was making his second spring start amid a roster battle for the Dodgers’ No. 5 rotation spot.
Nothing, however, came close to matching the anticipation of Ohtani’s return.
Less than four months ago, the reigning National League MVP underwent his shoulder surgery, repairing the torn labrum he sustained in the World Series. While that procedure set him slightly behind schedule in his offseason training program, it was clear long ago it wouldn’t cost him time in the regular season.
The real unknown was how much the surgery might impact Ohtani’s swing. Typically, the after-effects of a labrum tear can linger for a year or more. The Dodgers took solace in the fact that Ohtani’s injury occurred in the back shoulder of his swing, confident it would hamper him less than if it’d happened to his lead right arm. But up until Friday, his only live swings this camp came in backfield sessions against minor-league arms.
“[Rehabbing] the shoulder, it’s a little bit more complicated,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton earlier this month, acknowledging that he still felt some discomfort near the area of the surgery. “I do believe that’s the part that I have to be patient.”
On Friday night, however, Ohtani’s first highlight of the year came after no wait at all.
Batting leadoff against Kikuchi, a fellow Japanese star who went to the same high school as Ohtani, the slugger laid off a couple two-strike offerings to work the count full. Then, on an elevated center-cut fastball, he barreled up a fly ball into the Dodgers’ left-field bullpen. The moment it left his bat, it was a no-doubt shot.
“Obviously, there was a lot of anticipation for this night, and for him to homer his first at-bat, off Kikuchi, it’s pretty special,” Roberts added. “Given where we’re at in spring training, you not have thought he had surgery this offseason.”
Freddie Freeman is expecting to be in the lineup when the Dodgers open their season on March 18-19 in Japan against the Chicago Cubs.
Ohtani flung his bat as he trotted out of the batter’s box. While rounding third, he flashed the Dodgers’ dugout the same hand-waving celebration that accompanied his 54 long balls last year.
That’s a total Ohtani is unlikely to reach again this season, as he’s expected to get more regular off-days once he starts pitching in MLB games sometime in May (if not sooner). Same with his 59 steals in 2024, which gave him the first 50-homer, 50-steal season in MLB history.
“I don’t think he’s going to get the same number of at-bats, plate appearances, given that he’s going to be pitching,” Roberts said before Friday’s game. “I don’t think he’s going to steal as many bases, just appreciating the fact that he does need to pitch and saving his legs.”
However, on a “per plate appearance” basis, Roberts quickly countered, “I still think he can be just as productive.”
“There’s some subtleties [in his swing] that he’s kind of been working on from last year, when he was really good, to when he had the injury, to where he’s at right now,” Roberts added. “I think he’s in a really good spot.”
Ohtani’s night didn’t feature any more fireworks. In the second inning, he popped out on a Kikuchi curveball. In the fifth, he struck out on a big swing against Chase Silseth.
As he returned to the dugout following his final at-bat, Ohtani briefly shook out his left shoulder. The reason, however, was to ensure there was no more tightness or discomfort, telling reporters afterward that “my shoulder felt great.”
“That was a good test,” Ohtani added.
Plenty more tests await Ohtani this year. Many questions remain unanswered in his quest to rediscover two-way dominance.
But for one night, at least, Ohtani showed no signs of his offseason surgery or winter-long rehab.
“Regardless of the results, the biggest takeaway was being able to go through my three at-bats with no issues physically,” he said. “I felt really good.”
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