Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani throws off a mound for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery last fall
Shohei Ohtani threw off a mound on Saturday for the first time since his elbow surgery last year, which has prevented him from pitching this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While recovering from his elbow injury, Ohtani has been making headlines with his hitting. On Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, he hit a grand slam in the ninth inning to reach 40 home runs and stole a base in the fourth inning to achieve 40 stolen bases.
Ohtani is the fastest player ever to join the 40-40 club, doing so in his 126th game of the season.
He threw 10 pitches in the bullpen at Dodger Stadium, with a large group of media watching closely. Ohtani had surgery last September after injuring his elbow while playing for the Los Angeles Angels. Three months later, he signed a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers.
The team has made it clear that Ohtani will not pitch at all this season, including during the postseason.
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Freddie Freeman reveals just how heartbroken Jason Heyward was about Dodgers DFA
Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward came up together with the Atlanta Braves in the early 2010’s. While Freeman has had considerably more success than Heyward, they’ve remained friends and even linked up again with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023.
Freeman used his connections within the Dodgers front office to get Freeman on the team in the first place two winters ago. When Heyward signed, Freeman offered the most genuine reaction one could hope for.
“I got my friend back and I’ve just been telling him how wonderful the Dodgers have been for me. He’s really excited. He’s already worked out at Dodger Stadium, he’s been at my house this week, he’s going up to L.A. and Pasadena to work with Robert Van Scoyoc and Aaron Bates, running with Travis Smith, our strength guy,” Freeman said. “He’s going to be in L.A. the next two weeks, spending time with them, and he’s really excited to be a Dodger.”
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Jason Heyward roster move caught Freddie Freeman off-guard
Heyward played up to par in 2023, with an .813 OPS in 124 games. It was his best season in years, but unfortunately he couldn’t follow that up in 2024. Rather, Heyward struggled mightily at the plate, hitting just over the Mendoza line with an OPS of .682. The Dodgers made the right business decision in letting Heyward walk, but Freeman revealed that his friend and teammate has gone dark, minus a few texts here and there.
Heyward, hopefully, is just going through a tough time. He could feasibly be a nice pickup for a contender in need of outfield depth. FanSided’s John Buhler pitched the Atlanta Braves, especially since their current starting outfield of Jarred Kelenic-Michael Harris II-Jorge Soler could use some tweaking.
“I think the fact that Anthopoulos has a previous Los Angeles connection, as well as Heyward having played for Brian Snitker during his minor league career in Atlanta could present a great opportunity…If Atlanta wants defense and postseason experience on its side, I would kick the tires on Heyward,”