Shohei Ohtani has taken another step forward in his recovery from right arm and left knee injuries.
asserted
Ohtani → take → injuries
On Saturday afternoon, the two-way star did base-running drills on the field during Dodgers batting practice — and began taking simulated at-bats against the team’s Trajekt Arc pitching machine behind the scenes in the clubhouse batting cages.
asserted
star → do → cages
The former was the more visible development, marking the first time Ohtani had been seen on the field performing physical activities since he went on the injured list at the end of last week’s homestand.
asserted
he → mark → homestand
His work in the hitting cages, however, was a more telling sign of how quickly he might be able to return to action, representing a significant step in what has thus far been a setback-free ramp-up process.
uncertain
what → return → step
At the start of the week, Ohtani resumed hitting activities with incremental steps.
asserted
Ohtani → resume → steps
First, he hit off a tee.
asserted
he → hit → tee
Then, he took soft tosses from coaches.
asserted
he → take → coaches
In recent days, he had begun swinging off a pitching machine, too.
asserted
he → begin → machine
But the Trajekt machine is different; offering players augmented reality at-bats in which a video screen displays a specific pitcher’s windup before firing a ball out of a slot from their hand.
asserted
screen → offer → hand
In recent years, the technology has become ubiquitous around MLB clubhouses.
asserted
technology → become → clubhouses
And in lieu of a minor-league rehab stint — impossible now with the minor-league season ending — it will be Ohtani’s best way to hone a game-ready swing again.
asserted
it → end → swing
“You hope it bridges the gap a little bit,” hitting coach Aaron Bates said.
asserted
Bates → hope → gap
“So between machine, live pitching, Trajekt, somewhere in between that, that’s the best you can do.”
asserted
you → ’ → that
Bates has been part of the group overseeing Ohtani’s recent cage work.
asserted
Bates → oversee → work
He said the slugger has looked “great” and shown no signs of his injuries while returning to full-intensity reps.
asserted
slugger → say → reps
It’s 100% intensity,” Bates said.
asserted
Bates → ’ → ?
“Once he gets out to the field, if he does a live BP or something like that, and the intensity ramps up, it’ll be a good test to see what happens.
asserted
what → get → that
Before Ohtani went on the injured list, it was evident to the Dodgers’ hitting staff that the two-way star “looked extremely compromised,” as Bates acknowledged.
asserted
Bates → go → staff
One key sign: Ohtani was following through on more of his swings with a one-handed finish, something Bates noted is “always kind of a tell for Shohei, whether he’s going through something or not, just because he is disconnected a bit from his back side.”
asserted
he → follow → side
Lately, however, Ohtani’s two-handed finish has returned in his swing — as has the Dodgers’ optimism that he will be able to provide production in their lineup, despite the 6-for-52 slump he was mired in previously.
asserted
he → return → slump
“I think everything’s been good so far,” Bates said.
asserted
Bates → think → ?
When Ohtani will be activated remains unclear, with his 15-day stint not up until next Wednesday.
uncertain
stint → activate → Wednesday
But manager Dave Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman have said they expect him to be back before the end of the regular season.
asserted
him → say → season
Bates echoed that sentiment Saturday, saying Ohtani appears to be “on schedule” while deferring any more specific timeline to the training staff.
asserted
Ohtani → echo → staff
Ohtani has not asked to get a specific number of simulated at-bats before being activated, Bates added.
asserted
Bates → ask → bats
“He just kind of goes how he feels,” he said.
asserted
he → go → ?
“And the rehab guys will have kind of the exact quantity kind of laid out for them in that sense.”
asserted
guys → have → sense
Time will still tell, of course, whether Ohtani will actually look like himself when he returns, or if he the months he spent playing through his injuries have left him too diminished to make his typical impact with the bat.
asserted
he → tell → bat
As Bates noted, it’s possible Ohtani could get a live batting practice session against a pitcher before returning (although the organization is short on arms at the moment capable of doing that, Roberts said Saturday).
uncertain
Roberts → note → that
But beyond that, his Trajekt at-bats will likely account for the bulk of his hitting preparation before returning to game action.
asserted
bats → account → action
“You kind of fire them out there and see what happens,” Bates said.
asserted
Bates → fire → them
“Just like spring training, it kind of takes guys a little bit of time to get their footing.
asserted
it → take → footing
But it depends on the person.
asserted
it → depend → person
Every guy is a little bit different with how much time they need.
asserted
they → need → time
Some guys don’t need a lot.”
Ohtani, Bates said, is in that latter category.
And so far, at least, his hitting progression is going about as well as they could have hoped.
uncertain
they → need → category
The Aporia
