'700 Million Dollar Man' Ohtani expected to appear in MLB exhibition game next week

Major League Baseball (MLB) Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani (30) is expected to play in an exhibition game next week.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts mentioned the timing of Ohtani's participation in the exhibition game ahead of the 2024 MLB exhibition game against the San Diego Padres held at the Peoria Sports Complex in Arizona, USA on the 22nd (Korean time).

Coach Roberts said, “Ohtani will not play in the exhibition game this weekend. “He will be playing in an exhibition game next week.”

The Dodgers won 14-1 in the first exhibition game of the year against San Diego on this day. However, Otani did not appear.

Coach Roberts announced on the 19th that Ohtani would not play in his first exhibition game against San Diego.

Ohtani, who underwent elbow ligament joint surgery (Tommy John surgery) in September of last year, will not be able to double hitter this year. He will only play as a hitter as he focuses on rehabilitating his elbow.

Although he cannot play as a pitcher, Ohtani, who became a free agent after the 2023 season and signed an astronomical 10-year, $700 million (approximately KRW 931.2 billion) contract with the Dodgers, is attracting attention with his every move.

Of course, his training progress and whether he will participate in exhibition games are also of interest.

Ohtani took his first free bet after joining the Dodgers on the 13th. He showed off his prowess by hitting 10 home runs.

Afterwards, on the 20th and 22nd, live betting was conducted where batting practice was conducted while standing at bat and watching the pitcher throw the ball from the mound. In the first live betting on the 20th, he hit a home run.

Ohtani said after live betting that “preparations for the season are progressing smoothly,” but the Dodgers are carefully coordinating the timing of his actual deployment.

Coach Roberts said that Ohtani needs to have more than 50 at-bats before the season opens, and Ohtani expressed confidence, saying, “I can fill the gap.”

Ohtani is aiming to play in the opening game of the MLB regular season against San Diego, which will be held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 20th and 21st of next month.

Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325 million (approximately 432.3 billion won) mega-contract with the Dodgers through the posting system after the 2023 season, performed live pitching on this day, putting the batter at bat and throwing the ball from the mound.

Yamamoto threw 43 pitches against 10 batters and did not give up a hit. He struck out 6, and the highest fastball speed was 153 km/h.

As Otani did not bet live that day, the sight of the two facing each other was not produced.

Yamamoto, who is likely to pitch in the MLB Seoul Series, is scheduled to make his first appearance in an exhibition game next week. 고스톱사이트