MLB spring training is underway. The Los Angeles Dodgers face the San Diego Padres in the first game of the Cactus League season on Thursday, with the Dodgers grabbing an early 8-0 lead. But it’s unclear whether Shohei Ohtani will participate in this one.

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Ohtani, who earned the American League MVP award unanimously for the second time last year, is recovering from a ruptured UCL sustained last August. The two-way player will only play as a designated hitter this season before returning to pitching duties the following year.Los Angeles and San Diego will also compete in the inaugural series of the MLB regular season, a two-game match in South Korea. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Tuesday that offseason signings Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow will start those games.

Is Shohei Ohtani playing today?No, Ohtani will not play in Thursday’s game, he confirmed to reporters Wednesday.

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When will Shohei Ohtani play?

There is no current information on when Ohtani will make his Dodgers debut in spring training.

Ohtani told reporters that his goal for spring training is to get 50 total at-bats before the Dodgers’ regular-season opening on March 20. He believes he has enough time to meet that goal without playing in the opening game of spring training and is “trending in the right direction.”

The reigning AL MVP stated that those 50 at-bats will not all come during games; he will include at-bats in live batting practice and against a Dodgers’ high-tech pitching machine as progress toward that target.Ohtani smashed a home run during his first live spring training batting practice on Monday, after numerous home runs in his first session since having elbow surgery on February 12. So far in spring training, he has five at-bats, all of which have come during live batting practice.