Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani throws off a mound for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery last fall
Shohei Ohtani threw off a mound on Saturday for the first time since his elbow surgery last year, which has prevented him from pitching this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While recovering from his elbow injury, Ohtani has been making headlines with his hitting. On Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, he hit a grand slam in the ninth inning to reach 40 home runs and stole a base in the fourth inning to achieve 40 stolen bases.
Ohtani is the fastest player ever to join the 40-40 club, doing so in his 126th game of the season.
He threw 10 pitches in the bullpen at Dodger Stadium, with a large group of media watching closely. Ohtani had surgery last September after injuring his elbow while playing for the Los Angeles Angels. Three months later, he signed a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers.
The team has made it clear that Ohtani will not pitch at all this season, including during the postseason.
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Dodgers parting with Jason Heyward was scapegoat move for Chris Taylor mistake
On Thursday, the Dodgers designated Jason Heyward for assignment in order to make room for Chris Taylor, who was coming off the IL after a month-long absence with a groin strain. Heyward was really the only logical choice — Gavin Lux was the only remaining player on the roster with minor league options, and the rest of the one-year contract crop (Teoscar Hernández, Kiké Hernández, Kevin Kiermaier) either have been playing too well or have been getting hot enough that it would be really hard for the Dodgers to justify dropping them.
Especially hard in exchange for a player like Taylor. If you sort of forgot that he was even on the IL, you wouldn’t be judged. He’s basically been a non-factor in LA’s lineup this year, after batting .045 through April and .200 through May. His June was promising (.278), but he quickly got back to being bad in July before he got hurt.
However, there’s really nothing the Dodgers can do except wait and see if he has a Gavin Lux-esque resurgence and can get hot out of nowhere, and his four-year, $60 million contract is to blame.
If Taylor can’t magically get better through the rest of the season, then his deal is well on the way to joining a few “worst contract busts” lists for the Dodgers.
Chris Taylor’s outsized contract is to blame for Dodgers’ recent Jason Heyward DFA
This wasn’t the first time the Dodgers have been faced with rough roster decisions this year. Aside from Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, and Tommy Edman’s recent returns, the Dodgers claimed Cavan Biggio off waivers in June, and someone had to get the push. It should’ve been Taylor, who was batting .108 on the season at the time, but instead it was Miguel Vargas.
