The Dodgers will conduct their first full-squad workout at their Glendale, Arizona, spring training facility Wednesday — but Shohei Ohtani has already put up his first impressive batting performance of 2024.
Ohtani hit 10 home runs on 21 swings in his first outdoor batting practice session as a Dodger on Monday on a back field at Camelback Ranch.
“I felt really good overall,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “Every swing got really strong with some good results.”
Ohtani — the two-way pitcher/slugger signed as a free agent in December to a record 10-year, $700 million contract — missed the Los Angeles Angels’ final 25 games of 2023 after injuring his right oblique while taking batting practice at Angel Stadium on Sept. 4.
“I was planning on, like I said earlier, to swing on the lighter side,” Ohtani said. “But I felt like the swings were feeling really good, which is a really good sign. I think it’s trending towards me being ready for Opening Day.”
The Dodgers are set to open the season March 20 against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea.
Despite being limited to 135 of the Angels’ 162 games, Ohtani hit an American League-leading 44 home runs in 2023, en route to being the unanimous selection for the league’s MVP award for the second time in three seasons.
Ohtani, a right-handed pitcher, will not pitch in 2024 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
The Dodgers’ other major offseason hitting additions include outfielder Manuel Margot, acquired in the trade with the Tampa Bay Rays that also brought the Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow, and former Seattle Mariners outfielder Teoscar Hernández, a two-time Silver Slugger award winner.
Dodgers’ pitchers and catchers had their first workout on Friday.