Shohei Ohtani (the pitcher) is back, while Shohei Ohtani (the hitter) continues to rake. Ohtani last pitched in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. Between starts, all he did was hit 54 home runs,

Shohei Ohtani could return to a major league mound in the next two weeks but Los Angeles Dodgers rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki has paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff.

Ohtani will be the Dodgers' opener on Monday night and will be expected to throw for only an inning or two in his return to the mound after suffering a UCL tear in Aug. 2023.

Aaron Judge, the slugger who leads the majors in batting average, and Shohei Ohtani, who have combined to win five of the last eight Most Valuable Player awards, are lapping the rest of Major League Baseball in the first batch of All-Star Game balloting.