Why the Dodgers don't need Shohei Ohtani to pitch to start the season

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Twenty-eight days later, the Dodgers have packed up and left Camelback Ranch to embark on their World Series championship defense.

Their first stop: Japan, with the team flying out Wednesday ahead of its season-opening two-game series against the Chicago Cubs next week at the Tokyo Dome.

Because of that schedule quirk, the Dodgers’ spring schedule was abbreviated again. But even in just four weeks, much emerged about the state of the team.

As the club prepares to begin the season, here are five takeaways on how things went in camp.

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Shohei Ohtani’s focus on DH (for now)

If there was one big surprise, it was the Dodgers’ decision to have Shohei Ohtani “slow-play” his pitching program over the second half of camp and focus — at least at the start of the season — on solely being a designated hitter.

Eventually, the Dodgers maintain, Ohtani will return to pitching this year, after being unable to last season while recovering from a second Tommy John surgery.

But, both manager Dave Roberts and pitching coach Mark Prior explained, Ohtani and the club made a collaborative choice to wait on fully building him up on the mound, halting his bullpen sessions once he began DHing in Cactus League games.

Barring an undisclosed physical issue — something Roberts and Prior repeatedly insisted was not the case — it means that Ohtani is willingly delaying his return to two-way duties, if only temporarily, in order to focus on hitting.

“There’s a little bit of a shift towards making sure he’s dialed in, ready to go from a DH standpoint,” Prior said last week. “I think this was a good time to just kind of like de-load and make sure he’s geared up, ready to go, and then continue to throw and then gear up once we get back.”

The move makes sense for Ohtani and the team. The Dodgers never were going to need 20-plus starts out of Ohtani. In fact the more he pitches, the more complicated handling him will be, potentially necessitating extra days off that would keep his bat out of the lineup.

What the Dodgers really want is to have Ohtani as an option come the stretch run of the season — assuming he rediscovers some semblance of the stuff that helped him post a 2.84 earned-run average as a pitcher from 2021 to 2023. Delaying his pitching program now, especially amid the logistical hurdles of this Tokyo trip, does nothing to harm that goal. And in the meantime, it should help Ohtani — who also is coming back from a torn labrum in his left shoulder — get back to normal at the plate.

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Roki Sasaki ready for MLB debut

Or, at least, as ready as he’ll ever be.

Ever since he signed with the Dodgers this offseason, Roki Sasaki has been advertised as a supremely talented but unfinished product. At times early in camp, the 23-year-old Japanese phenom looked that way — battling shaky command and lack of feel for a third pitch in early bullpen and live batting practice sessions.

However, in two Cactus League outings, Sasaki combined for seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, flashing his upper-90s fastball and devastating splitter.

Growing pains undoubtedly lie ahead for Sasaki. Prior acknowledged as much, saying the young right-hander still “fits that mold of a talent-galore prospect,” even if he already has close to ace-caliber stuff. After making just 69 stars in his Japanese league career, Sasaki still is learning how to best utilize it in games.

Still, Sasaki’s spring performance offered a glimpse at his immediate potential and a preview of his tantalizing long-term ceiling.

And as the Dodgers head to Japan, he’s all but certain to start Game 2 after Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s opening outing.

“To be able to pitch in Japan is going to be a special and unique opportunity,” Sasaki said through an interpreter after his final spring start Tuesday. “Obviously being able to pitch in the major leagues is something I’ve worked for a long time to be able to do. So I’m excited.”

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Mookie Betts’ error-free spring

Twenty-eight times in his 11 Cactus League games, Mookie Betts was called to field a ball at shortstop.

Twenty-eight times, the converted right fielder successfully completed the play, posting an error-free spring as he moves back to shortstop.

Not every play Betts made was pretty. There were low throws and wide tosses. A few balls that nearly got past whoever was playing first base.

But compared to last year, when Betts made nine errors (eight on throws) in just 63 games at shortstop before eventually moving back to right field, this spring still represented a marked improvement — not only of Betts’ throws, but also his confidence and communication at the infield’s most demanding position.

“Last year I felt I saw an elite athlete playing a premium position,” Roberts said. “Now when I look out there and watch him take grounders and throw it across the diamond, I see a shortstop.”

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Pitchers (mostly) stay healthy

It was not an injury-free spring for the pitching staff.

Michael Grove was lost for the year because of labrum surgery. Edgardo Henriquez hurt his foot in an undisclosed off-field accident. Bobby Miller took a comebacker off his head, slowing his ramp-up for the season. Most recently (and notably), Tony Gonsolin tweaked his back while lifting weights in the gym.

But by the standard of last season’s injury-ravaged pitching staff, this spring still represented a success. Yamamoto, Sasaki, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow all went unscathed. Dustin May earned the fifth rotation spot in a promising return from elbow surgery. And even guys with preexisting injuries that carried over from last season, like Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech, made encouraging strides that should have them back in action relatively early in the season.

There is still a challenge ahead. Last year some Dodgers personnel believed their season-opening trip to South Korea was a contributing factor to the onslaught of injuries. This year they are hopeful past experience will make for a smoother return.

“There’s no concerns,” Roberts said last week. “Very comfortable where we’re at as far as getting ready to leave.”

The best news, however, remains the fact that they haven’t had to dip deep into their over-abundance of depth yet, getting through the spring healthy enough on the mound as the season begins.

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Lineup looking for balance

You’ll never guess which three Dodgers had particularly impressive springs.

Ohtani returned from his shoulder surgery to bat .333 with a home run in his first at-bat. Freddie Freeman came back from offseason ankle surgery and hit .280 with three home runs. And Betts, despite batting just .240 while committing much of his focus to his defense, didn’t strike out in 29 plate appearances.

Even in the Cactus League, the Dodgers’ Big Three is a safe bet to produce.

Like last year, however, the team’s offensive success could be dictated on its ability to balance the lineup with bottom-of-the-order depth. And in that arena, the team enters the season coming off mixed spring results.

Some middle-of-the-order names shined. Tommy Edman matched Freeman with three home runs for the team lead. Teoscar Hernández had nine hits, second most in camp, while batting .290. New signing Michael Conforto finished the spring in a flurry. Bench bats like Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas also hit above .375.

On the other end of the spectrum, though, some struggles don’t bode well for the season.

The team already optioned South Korean utility man Hyeseong Kim to the minors, realizing early on that his swing is in need of a major overhaul before he’s ready for big-league pitching. James Outman is on the roster for Tokyo but appears destined to follow Kim to the minors, having struck out in 15 of 36 plate appearances while trying to adapt to his own altered swing.

Most notably, Chris Taylor still seems lost at the plate, following up his Dodgers career-low .202 batting average last year with a .219 mark and 13 strikeouts this spring.

Because of that, the Dodgers’ lineup depth doesn’t look quite as good as once envisioned — especially from the left side of the plate, where Kim was supposed to help serve as a replacement for the since-traded Gavin Lux.