Since he inked a huge contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers towards the end of the previous season, Shohei Ohtani has been in the news. At the moment, he is the most anticipated player in Major League Baseball, with teams vying for the services of the former two-way star from the Angels.

But Ohtani will only be able to play during the 2024 season as he recovers from elbow surgery following a partial rupture of his UCL in the previous season. Although the surgery was not disclosed as a Tommy John procedure, it essentially had the same outcome because it will restrict him to the designated DH position for the whole season.

During the start of the Dodgers’ Spring Training, Ohtani was spotted hitting. He appeared to have good swing mechanics and, ideally, will be the centerpiece of a strong lineup that already features some of the best hitters in baseball, including Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts.

Can Ohtani handle a real pitcher? However, it appears like the Japanese sensation may not be there just yet. According to Juan Toribio of MLB.com, Shohei Ohtani did not join the group of players who were prepared to take live batting practice, including Chris Taylor, Max Muncy, and Teoscar Hernández.

It’s been said that Ohtani is still not healed enough to take on live pitches. If all goes according to plan with his rehabilitation, Toribio says he should be facing pitchers the following week.

The Dodgers landed right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto with a $325 million, 12-year contract in addition to Ohtani, who inked a $700 million, 10-year contract in December. They signed Seattle native Teoscar Hernández as a free agent to a one-year, $23.5 million deal.