Dodgers Dave Roberts Reveals Minimum At Bats For Shohei Ohtani to Be Ready

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that designated hitter Shohei Ohtani wants a minimum of 50 at-bats during Spring Training to be ready for the season opener, per Dodgers Nation’s Noah Camras.

With the start of Spring Training games around the corner, Ohtani has deemed that he will need that minimum of 50 at-bats to feel ready for the Dodgers season opener.

While Ohtani will not be playing in the Dodgers’ opening Cactus League game against the San Diego Padres on Thursday, he will have plenty of opportunities to get those at-bats in over the next month.

Ohtani is already “ahead of schedule” in his return from surgery to repair a UCL tear he suffered in 2023 while with the Los Angeles Angels. Though the surgery has kept him from batting against live pitching as soon as he would in a normal offseason, Ohtani’s work ethic has him in a strong position heading into the Cactus League. In just his third batting practice with the Dodgers, Ohtani hit five home runs on five swings.

If these batting practice results are any indication of what the Dodgers can expect, they’ll be in for a great 2024 season. However, this does not come as a suprise. The Dodgers prized $700 million free agency signing is already one of the best batters through just six MLB seasons. The 2023 Hank Aaron award winner and AL home run leader, and a three-time Edgar Martínez award winner as the best designated hitter in baseball, Ohtani has showed time and time again that he is outstanding at the plate.

Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

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