Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers speaks to the media during spring training workouts in Arizona
Brandon SloterLos Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani could be eyeing up a new item for his trophy case as he heads into the 2026 Major League Baseball season fully healthy.
The four-time MLB Most Valuable Player, winner of two World Series titles, has yet to capture the Cy Young Award for outstanding pitching, something that could be rectified if he can finally play an entire season for the Dodgers without pitching restrictions.
"Regardless of my expectations for him, his are going to exceed those," manager Dave Roberts said Friday as the Dodgers held their first spring training workouts for pitchers and catchers in Arizona.
"I think it's fair to say he expects to be in the Cy Young conversation. But we just want him to be healthy and make starts," Roberts said. "All the numbers and statistics will take care of themselves."
Ohtani arrived at spring training this year after enjoying a rehab-free off-season.
After undergoing two right elbow operations in 2023, Ohtani did not return to the mound for the Dodgers until last June.
Although he won't pitch for Japan in the Baseball World Classic, he expects to be a full-time two-way player this season for the first time since 2023.
His best two-way season to date was in 2022 with the Los Angeles Angels, when he went 15-9 with a 2.33 earned run average and was fourth in the American League Cy Young voting behind winner Justin Verlander, runner-up Dylan Cease and third-placed Alek Manoah.
"Getting a Cy Young means being able to throw more innings and being able to pitch throughout the whole season," Ohtani said. "So if that's the end result, that's a good sign for me."
Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes won the National League Cy Young Award in 2025 and will likely be a contender again -- as could Ohtani's teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
To have a shot, Ohtani will have to be used as a regular starter all season, and he's gearing up to be ready even though he'll take a break from the mound and only hit for Japan during the World Baseball Classic on March 5-17.
"I'm not really sure how I'll be able to practice in the WBC setting, so I'm going to try to ramp up as much as I can to the point where I'm throwing a live (batting practice), which should be next week," Ohtani said.
"That's at least the goal, to be able to ramp up to the point where I'm throwing live BPs."
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Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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