Shohei Ohtani News: Closing in on pitching debut

Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Ohtani (elbow) will throw another live batting practice session early this week, which may "potentially" be the right-hander's final live throwing session before he makes his Dodgers debut as a pitcher, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani -- who remains in the lineup at designated hitter and as the Dodgers' leadoff batter in Sunday's game against the Giants -- built up to 44 pitches and three innings in his most recent live BP outing Tuesday, per MLB.com. He'll likely be targeting around 50 or 55 pitches in his upcoming throwing session, and if all goes well, Ohtani may finally be given the green light to operate as a two-way player for the first time since Aug. 23, 2023, when he made his last appearance as a pitcher for the Angels before undergoing his second career Tommy John surgery just under a month later. Because Ohtani won't be fully stretched out for a traditional starter's workload by the time he's cleared to make his debut on the mound, Roberts said that the 30-year-old will initially be used as a multi-inning opener in bullpen games and will gradually build up his pitch counts.