Ed Odeven 
Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Shohei Ohtani pitches during a simulated game on June 10, 2025, in San Diego. (©KYODO)
For nearly two years, Shohei Ohtani hasn't pitched in a game.
Now he's making steady progress toward pitching again in a competitive environment.
During his latest mound outing, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar pitched three simulated innings at Petco Park in San Diego on Tuesday, June 10. According to published reports, Ohtani faced a pair of Arizona Complex League players before the Dodgers faced the San Diego Padres in a regularly scheduled contest.
Over those three frames, Ohtani tossed 44 pitches to the minor leaguers. He impressed Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, and his fastball topped out at 96 mph (155 kph), Kyodo News reported.
"I thought he was really good," Roberts said, according to The Associated Press before adding, "I thought the fastball had life."
Roberts then said, "I thought the sweeper was really good."
And what was the assessment of those who batted against Ohtani?
"[The hitters] said the stuff was coming out really well," Roberts was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
Is Ohtani ready to return as an MLB pitcher?
Roberts has previously said the team is targeting Ohtani's comeback debut to take place after the All-Star Game, which will be held on July 15 in Atlanta.
But in his remarks to reporters before Tuesday's game against the Padres, the Dodgers skipper acknowledged the team's embrace of a timetable is girded by caution.
"I'm sure Shohei is tempted to just rip the Band-Aid off and get into a big-league game, but I think we're doing a good job of being patient," Roberts said, according to The Athletic.
"And truth be told, I don't know if anyone knows the right time to get him into a big-league game, but we're still being very careful."
Could Shohei Ohtani Return Even Sooner?
It is possible, of course, that two-way star Ohtani could be back firing pitches against MLB batters even sooner.
Speaking to reporters about this possibility, Roberts described it with an ambiguous phrase: a "north of zero" chance.
Is that a 1% chance? A 10% chance?
Stay tuned.
The global fan favorite is a three-time MVP winner (twice in the American League and also in 2024 in the National League. Ohtani underwent surgery on his right elbow in September 2023, deemed necessary after he suffered an injury in a game that August, while he was pitching.
The Dodgers have invested $700 million USD (¥100 billion JPY) in Ohtani for his 10-year contract. And he's only in Year 2 of that agreement.
So it makes all the sense in the world for the reigning World Series champions to maintain a cautious approach.
After all, he's twice had surgery on his right elbow ― the first one was performed in August 2018.
Ratcheting Up His Workload
Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior, who was an MLB pitcher from 2002-06 with the Chicago Cubs, expounded on Roberts' remarks about Ohtani's comeback.
From his vantage point, Prior felt Ohtani had a strong outing on Tuesday, including six strikeouts. He allowed one hit and one walk.
"From pitch to pitch, I thought he was in command the whole time today," Prior said, according to Kyodo News. "We were just sitting back and watching, and there wasn't a whole lot to say. He was doing whatever he wanted with the baseball, with every pitch he wanted to."
It was Ohtani's first outing against live batters since he tossed 29 pitches in two innings to a left-handed hitter and a right-handed hitter from LA's Single-A Rancho Cucamonga farm team on May 31 at Dodger Stadium.
As Roberts and Prior have stated, the Dodgers believe Ohtani is making progress without rushing him back.
"He's trying to get into the 60-70 pitch range," Prior said, according to Kyodo News. "Then he can start envisioning and dreaming about being in the game because then he knows that he has the volume under him to go out there and at least take down multiple innings."
Dodgers in the Playoff Hunt
You can never have too much pitching depth, baseball savants have repeatedly said.
And even though the Dodgers (41-28 through Wednesday June 11) lead the NL West, the San Francisco Giants (40-28) and San Diego Padres (38-29) are all in the hunt for playoff berths.
A healthy Shohei Ohtani, who has a career win-loss record of 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA in the majors, could be a boost for the Dodgers pitching staff.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
