"Not astounded by anything Shohei Ohtani does" - Red Sox ace explains lack of surprise over Dodgers superstar’s historic year despite injury rehab

Shohei Ohtani is a two-way star but in his historic 2024 season, he played as a designated hitter. That's because the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger is rehabbing his right elbow from Tommy John surgery.

However, despite the recovery, he surprised many by becoming the first MLB slugger to enter the 50-50 club (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases). He finished the year with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases and is a frontrunner to win his third MVP, first in the National League.

Lucas Giolito, Shohei Ohtani's former teammate and now with the Boston Red Sox, shared details of how intense rehabbing from a pitching injury can be while hailing Ohtani.

"Well, I'm not astounded by anything he does anymore because he's the greatest player on the planet. I got to witness it—I saw it in person for a month when I was with the Angels. I saw his work ethic, how he goes about, what he does and it all makes sense. So no, I'm not astounded at all," Giolito said (15:00 onwards).

The Red Sox ace further talked about how difficult it can be to rehab from Tommy John surgery, highlighting his experience.

"Tommy John, on the other hand, is much more invasive," he continued. They remove the damaged ligament, drill holes in the bones—two or maybe four—and then take a tendon, often from your wrist or hamstring, and wrap it into those holes. Then your body has to accept that tendon and trick itself into thinking it's a ligament. That process is obviously much more intense. You have to recover from the holes in your bones, and it's a lot more involved.

"So, the idea of Shohei swinging a bat and running around, given how good he is, doesn't surprise me at all. Maybe that's not the answer you're looking for, but no, I'm not surprised."

Shohei Ohtani is expected to get back to being two-way star in 2025

If the 2024 Dodgers wreaked havoc, then the 2025 team, especially pitching-wise, will be one to fear. That's because Shohei Ohtani will return to the mound after successfully rehabbing from elbow surgery.

Another surgery Ohtani underwent was a shoulder surgery earlier this month after hurting it while sliding to second base on a stolen base attempt in the World Series. As per the latest update, Ohtani aims to be healthy when Spring Training kicks off next year.