The Morning Call

‘A monster year’ on deck?

Ohtani won’t pitch in ’24, so he may be even better at the plate

- By Jack Harris

PHOENIX — Of all the tools at the disposal of the Dodgers’ player performanc­e department, a small rectangula­r machine called 1080 Sprint is one of their preferred methods for improving quickness and speed.

A portable resistance training device, 1080 Sprint attaches a motorized wire to a harness strapped around a player’s waist, slowing them down as they practice straightli­ne sprints and quick-twitch movements.

It’s like a modern version of running with a parachute tied to your back. The machine applies mechanical resistance to a player as they run. The hope is it will efficientl­y strengthen their stride, improve their accelerati­on and — in baseball — make them a higher-speed threat in the field and on the bases.

Early this spring, Travis Smith, the Dodgers’ strength and conditioni­ng coach, set up the machine on an open field at the team’s Camelback Ranch facility, and strapped the harness around Shohei Ohtani — the club’s new $700-million superstar acquisitio­n.

Like everyone else in camp, Smith knew Ohtani possessed an unmatched combinatio­n of strength, quickness and speed.

What he wasn’t expecting: for Ohtani to literally break the machine, severing the resistance wire in two like an old, fraying string.

“That,” Smith later recounted, “I’ve never seen.”

The moment itself was comical, with Ohtani sheepishly grinning as Smith, manager Dave Roberts and special assistant Ron Roenicke laughed in amazement nearby.

The takeaway, however, was tantalizin­g — serving as another sign that, in a year Ohtani won’t pitch while recovering from Tommy John surgery, there might be more physical potential for him to tap into.

As only a designated hitter this season, improvemen­ts upon his already elite offensive production might not be beyond the realm of possibilit­y.

“He’s just so powerful, with strength and quickness,” Roenicke said, still wearing a look of disbelief while recounting the moment a few days later. “I’m sure they see that in the NFL. But you don’t often in baseball, not with that kind of speed and strength. It’s different. He’s a different athlete.”

For most of his MLB career, Ohtani has expended that athleticis­m on both pitching and hitting. It helped make him a two-time MVP, and the league’s first true two-way star in roughly a century.

But, the dueling roles also pushed Ohtani to unpreceden­ted physical extremes, forcing him to divide his time, effort and mental energy on two very different — but equally demanding — positions during his six-year tenure with the Angels.

It didn’t stop him from becoming perhaps the best player in the majors. It hardly appeared to limit his abilities during All-Star seasons in the last three years.

With Ohtani having no choice this season but to dedicate more focus to the offensive part of his game, many around Dodgers camp have speculated about what it could mean for his 2024 performanc­e.

An increase in power? An enhanced level of consistenc­y at the plate? More constant aggression on the bases? Maybe even a 40-homer, 40-steal season (something that has been accomplish­ed only five times in MLB history)?

Less than a month out from opening day, the Dodgers are hoping that any of those lofty accomplish­ments could prove to be within Ohtani’s atmospheri­c reach.

“I would assume that it bodes better for him offensivel­y,” Roberts said.

“Because he doesn’t have to work this year on the pitching part of it,” Roenicke noted, “he’s got a lot more time to work on other parts of his game.”

Added hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc: “Obviously he’s been dominant, the best hitter in the sport, the last few years. But his mind, his focus being more singular on hitting, I think gives him a chance to really maximize everything.” Ahead of Jeremy Reed’s first season as Angels hitting coach in 2019, he was admittedly unsure about what to expect from Ohtani.

Though the Japanese star was the AL rookie of the year the previous season, he also had his first Tommy John surgery at the end of that campaign. As a result, the Angels knew he wouldn’t pitch in 2019.

And, after Ohtani sat out the opening month of his sophomore season while rehabilita­ting the injury, there was lingering uncertaint­y over what he could do at the plate.

“I didn’t know from a physical standpoint,” Reed said, “if there was going to be limitation­s.”

As it turned out, Ohtani not only hit that season, but did so at a well-above-leagueaver­age clip.

His .286 batting average was a point better than in his breakout 2018 performanc­e, and remains the second-highest mark of his MLB career.

His 18 home runs and 43 extra-base hits were only small drops from the season before, albeit with 58 more at-bats.

His .848 on-base-plus-slugging percentage was a career low for a full season (excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign). His comfort level at the plate as an everyday MLB hitter, however, quickly blossomed, confirming Ohtani’s status as one of the game’s more talented offensive threats.

“It was pretty eye-opening,” Reed said, “that a player could still hit with that injury.”

This year, Ohtani will face similar circumstan­ces.

The Tommy John surgery he underwent in September will keep him off the mound until 2025 but isn’t expected to impact his swing in the meantime.

His once strictly divided schedule can now be more allocated to offensive upkeep, particular­ly without the burdens of soreness and fatigue that accompany regular starting pitching appearance­s.

“He has embraced pitching and hitting, and I’m sure he’s going to miss not being able to go out there every fifth or sixth day to pitch,” Roberts said. “But I just really feel good about the way he is right now.”

Other factors are working in Ohtani’s favor.

He now has his 2019 experience to lean on, giving him an idea of what to expect as he recovers from his second Tommy John procedure .

“I understand the flow (of the process), to a degree,” Ohtani said in Japanese at the start of the spring. “I think it will go smoother than last time.”

He is also more developed physically than he was in 2019, when the slugger was younger (he’s now 29), smaller (he had plenty of size and athleticis­m, but not the muscular mass and definition that defines his appearance now) and still learning how to succeed in the major leagues.

“I know he’s got more experience now,” said Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel, who previously coached Ohtani with the Angels during his rookie year. “But he’s also gotten bigger ... Visually, he’s just so strong.”

Joining the Dodgers also should give Ohtani more lineup protection and run-production potential.

“No disrespect to the hitters that were around him (in Anaheim),” Reed said. “But there were times Anthony Rendon wasn’t on the field, or times when Mike (Trout) wasn’t on the field. Now, you have a fairly deep lineup that’s surrounded by one after another. So there’s no breaks for a pitcher.”

And then there is the widely held expectatio­n that Ohtani will increase his aggressive­ness on the bases, where he won’t be as worried about saving energy for pitching.

“He would like to run, he would like to steal,” Roenicke said. “Whether that means 30 stolen bases, whether that means 50, I think with him the most important thing is, ‘Am I stealing in the times when the team needs me?’ He mentioned that to me.”

Add it all up, and longtime Ohtani observers such as Reed think the sky could be his offensive limit this season.

“We’re talking about a dynamic runner, a dynamic mover, with the strength and leverage to go with it,” Reed said. “I would never put any limitation­s on him. That’s how good he is. So if he went out there and had a 40-40 season, I would not be surprised. I’d actually be like, ‘Yeah, I knew he could do that.’ ”

So, is there really another level for Ohtani — whose career highs in home runs (46) and steals (26) came in his first MVP season in 2021 — to unlock at the plate?

He would like to think so.

“I think there is more and more ahead,” he said.

He isn’t alone in that opinion.

Van Scoyoc insisted “there’s always things you can do better,” and that even the loftiest of expectatio­ns can be surpassed.

“There’s an opportunit­y there for him to make some improvemen­ts in his game offensivel­y,” Van Scoyoc said. “We don’t really know what anyone’s ceiling is.”

Ebel, who has been one of several coaches to throw batting practice sessions to Ohtani this spring, believed that a season of only hitting could “free his mind up” over the course of 162 games.

“He’s still gonna do whatever he has to do on the pitching side later, when he starts a throwing program,” Ebel said. “But right now he’s just solely locked in on offense.”

Rival scouts concurred. One evaluator said a 40-40 campaign or 50-homer season could be realistic. Another thought Ohtani was capable of a 1.100 OPS or better.

Whether it all results to an actual uptick in production, of course, is another question.

One Dodgers official who was quizzed for Ohtani prediction­s recently said to ask again in a month, when the slugger — who made his Cactus League debut Tuesday — will be at the end of his ramp-up for the regular season.

Roberts also hedged some of his optimism, acknowledg­ing, “I don’t know how it’s going to translate as far as performanc­e ... But I think that’s more of splitting hairs.”

Indeed, the Dodgers don’t necessaril­y need a production increase from Ohtani.

They signed him simply hoping for more of the MVP-caliber numbers he was already producing — a target he hit repeatedly even while splitting his time pitching.

“The thing with Shohei is, as soon as you start to doubt something that he can do, he’s gonna prove you wrong,” Reed said. “So I think Shohei is gonna have a monster year. I think he’s gonna do things with the bat he might not have ever done.”

 ?? ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES ?? After undergoing Tommy John surgery in September, Shohei Ohtani will not pitch in his first season with the Dodgers. He will only DH. Many in the Dodgers organizati­on believe that the two-time AL MVP will produce the best offensive numbers of his career. In his first exhibition game with the Dodgers on Tuesday, Ohtani hit a two-run home run in his third at-bat against the White Sox.
ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES After undergoing Tommy John surgery in September, Shohei Ohtani will not pitch in his first season with the Dodgers. He will only DH. Many in the Dodgers organizati­on believe that the two-time AL MVP will produce the best offensive numbers of his career. In his first exhibition game with the Dodgers on Tuesday, Ohtani hit a two-run home run in his third at-bat against the White Sox.
 ?? ASHLEY LANDIS/AP ?? Dodgers hitting coach Ron Roenicke on the biggest reason Ohtani could improve upon his already elite offensive game this season: “Because he doesn’t have to work ... on the pitching part of it, he’s got a lot more time to work on other parts of his game.”
ASHLEY LANDIS/AP Dodgers hitting coach Ron Roenicke on the biggest reason Ohtani could improve upon his already elite offensive game this season: “Because he doesn’t have to work ... on the pitching part of it, he’s got a lot more time to work on other parts of his game.”

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