Shohei Ohtani’s teammate weighs in on Dodgers two-way star’s recovery

Shohei Ohtani’s teammate, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow, weighed in on the two-way star’s recovery from Tommy John surgery. In particular, Glasnow referred to how things could work out once Shohei Ohtani returns to the mound, potentially coming into games as a relief pitcher.

During an appearance on Foul Territory published on Monday, Glasnow talked about “piggybacking” during Shohei Ohtani’s future appearances. Glasnow stated:

“I don't know about everyone else, I did it in Japan. I piggyback played in the fifth or sixth inning and finished the game when I was up to like four innings.”

The comments allude to the possibility of Ohtani starting games, but pitching two or three innings, leaving the rest of the game to Glasnow. As such, the Dodgers hurler made his opinions clear about that possibility:

“I think it’d be weird in the season, just having like a starter routine, and then having to throw and wait, the go throw it the bullpen, like, it’s more of a reliever thing; something I could do if they needed, I could find a way to figure out. If I had my number-one choice, I’d like to start the game.”

Glasnow seems amenable to whatever system manager Dave Roberts implements moving forward. As long as the matchups of situations warrant the need for having Ohtani pitch two innings and then have Glasnow take over, he’s certainly willing to do that.

Shohei Ohtani looked good in a recent bullpen session

During his appearance on the Foul Territory podcast, Glasnow also discussed his impressions of a recent bullpen outing by Shohei Ohtani.

Glasnow highlighted the fact that Ohtani still isn’t quite ready to hit the mound in a game situation, but is gradually getting there.

He stated:

“It’s definitely a unique situation. I think he can relate to people in regards to coming back from Tommy John, where you hit or pitch, everyone that’s gone through Tommy John can relate to what’s going on, things he was going through earlier, like super normal… the ups and downs can be pretty similar.”

Glasnow’s comments underscore the fact that recovering from Tommy John surgery is no easy task. Still, Shohei Ohtani has done his best to get back in pitching form while playing a full-time DH role.

He added:

“Watching him go about his work, DHing and doing his cage work and going out and throwing, throwing in the bullpen. I was out there for his bullpen two days ago, and it looked good. It looked effortless, good velo, still like just getting his footing about him.”

The encouraging signs seem to point toward Ohtani being progressively getting ready to hit the mound.

Glasnow concluded on a positive note, saying:

“I’ve watched a few of his training programs and it’s trending up in the right direction.”

The plan is to have Ohtani return to the mound at some point midseason. Judging from Glasnow’s comments, it seems Ohtani could be right on track.