“Two-Way Play” Welcomes the New Season! Shohei Ohtani Joins Starting Rotation, Roberts Reveals Initial Pitching Timing

Los Angeles Dodgers Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani is confirmed to officially restart his "two-way play" (pitching and hitting) in the 2026 season! Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed in an interview today that Ohtani is almost certain to enter the Dodgers' new season starting rotation, and his adjustment progress far exceeds last year. It is expected that he can handle about 5 innings of pitching work in his first game, and the schedule for his pitcher's "first appearance" this season has also been revealed.

Shohei Ohtani recently made his pitcher's first appearance in this year's spring training, facing the San Francisco Giants. He pitched 4.1 innings, allowing only 1 hit and no runs, with his fastest ball speed reaching 99.9 mph, demonstrating excellent competitive condition.

Roberts expressed deep satisfaction with this and pointed out that the adjustment rhythm this year is completely different from last year: "Last year, Ohtani started from 1 inning and gradually built up intensity, but this year is different. His current condition is expected to handle about 5 innings of pitching at the start of the season. I think his starting point now is much better than last year."

According to Japanese media reports, the next steps for "Pitcher Ohtani" have been scheduled. Ohtani is expected to make his final pre-regular season pitching test during the "Freeway Series" against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels, between March 23 and 25. Regarding the highly anticipated regular season debut, if everything goes smoothly, it is very likely to occur in the series against the Cleveland Guardians between March 31 and April 2 Beijing time.

Before today's warm-up game, Shohei Ohtani also conducted specialized pitcher training, including throwing against a wall, sprinting, catch, and long-distance throwing. The atmosphere on site was quite intense. Whenever Ohtani moved to a training area, large groups of fans on the stands followed in a "great migration," just to get a close look at the superstar. Cheers of "Shohei!" continuously erupted on site.

After today's game, Shohei Ohtani will not participate in the final Arizona spring training warm-up game against the Athletics tomorrow. Subsequently, the team will pack up and return to Los Angeles for the final sprint before the upcoming official regular season. This is also Ohtani's first time, since his injury in 2023 and brief comeback in 2025, to start a full season from the opening day in a completely healthy state, embracing it with "two-way play."