Dodgers get a bit of Shohei Ohtani good news after Japan's WBC exit
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Dodgers get a bit of Shohei Ohtani good news after Japan's WBC exit originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Shohei Ohtani is back with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's sooner than expected, though. Ohtani wanted to help Japan defend its World Baseball Classic championship. Instead, Samurai Japan was eliminated in the WBC quarterfinal by Venezuela.
That brought both Ohtani and his Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto back to camp.
"It never feels good not to win it, the WBC," manager Dave Roberts said, via MLB.com. "But I think that their goal is to win a championship this year for the Dodgers. I think that now their focus is just solely the Dodgers. So I don't know. I'm sure they're disappointed, but I still think that they're going to be focused on winning this year."
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There is one bit of good news out of all this for the Dodger.
That is this: Ohtani will make a Spring Training start on the mound before the regular season begins.
"For the Dodgers, there's a silver lining to Japan's early exit: It ensured that Ohtani will be able to start a game on the mound this spring," wrote MLB.com's Sonja Chen.
Ohtani had played in just one spring game before leaving Dodgers camp, and that was as a hitter. He went 1-for-3, a single.
Ohtani has thrown while he was with Japan, although not in WBC games. He threw four simulated innings last Thursday.
The Dodgers obviously try to be careful with Ohtani's arm. His two-way prowess is so important, and they have to get their moves right.
But seeing Ohtani start at least once in Spring Training before the regular season begins has to ease at least a bit of worry for the Dodgers.