Shohei Ohtani progresses in Dodgers recovery with Trajekt machine…
Shohei Ohtani has taken another step ahead in his recovery from proper arm and left knee accidents.
On Saturday afternoon, the two-way star did base-running drills on the area during Dodgers batting apply — and commenced taking simulated at-bats against the team’s Trajekt Arc pitching machine behind the scenes in the clubhouse batting cages.
The former was the more seen development, marking the first time Ohtani had been seen on the area performing bodily actions since he went on the injured listing at the end of last week’s homestand.
His work in the hitting cages, however, was a more telling signal of how shortly he may be capable of return to action, representing a major step in what has to this point been a setback-free ramp-up course of.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani works out on the area previous to a game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. IMAGN IMAGES by way of Reuters Connect
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) runs the bases on the area previous to a game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Saturday, September 19, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES by way of Reuters Connect
At the start of the week, Ohtani resumed hitting actions with incremental steps. First, he hit off a tee. Then, he took mushy tosses from coaches. In current days, he had begun swinging off a pitching machine, too.
But the Trajekt machine is different; providing gamers augmented actuality at-bats in which a video display screen shows a selected pitcher’s wind-up before firing a ball out of a slot from their hand.
In current years, the technology has turn out to be ubiquitous round MLB clubhouses.
And in lieu of a minor-league rehab stint — inconceivable now with the minor-league season ending — it will likely be Ohtani’s best technique to hone a game-ready swing again.
“You hope it bridges the gap a little bit,” hitting coach Aaron Bates said. “So between machine, live pitching, Trajekt, somewhere in-between that, that’s the best you can do.”
Bates has been a part of the group overseeing Ohtani’s current cage work. He said the slugger has appeared “great” and shown no indicators of his accidents while returning to full-intensity reps.
“In the cage, in a controlled setting, he’s been really good. It’s 100% intensity,” Bates said. “Once he gets out to the field, if he does a live BP or something like that, and the intensity ramps up, it’ll be a good test to see what happens. But in the cage, in the controlled setting, he’s been really good.”
Before Ohtani went on the injured listing, it was evident to the Dodgers’ hitting employees that the two-way star “looked extremely compromised,” as Bates acknowledged.
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One key signal: Ohtani was following by way of on more of his swings with a one-handed end, one thing Bates famous is “always kind of a tell for Shohei, whether he’s going through something or not, just because he is disconnected a bit from his back side.”
Lately, however, Ohtani’s two-handed end has returned in his swing — as has the Dodgers’ optimism that he’ll be capable of present manufacturing in their lineup, despite the 6-for-52 droop he was mired in beforehand.
“I think everything’s been good so far,” Bates said.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) flies out to left area against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning of a baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES by way of Reuters Connect
Shohei Ohtani (17) of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after fouling a ball off his foot during the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. Getty Images
When Ohtani might be activated stays unclear, with his 15-day stint not up until next Wednesday. But each supervisor Dave Roberts and president of baseball operations have said they count on him to be again before the end of the common season.
Bates echoed that sentiment Saturday, saying Ohtani seems to be “on schedule” while defering any more particular timeline to the training employees.
Ohtani has not requested to get a selected variety of simulated at-bats before being activated, Bates added.
“He just kind of goes how he feels,” he said. “And the rehab guys will have kind of the exact quantity kind of laid out for them in that sense.”
Time will still inform, after all, whether or not or not Ohtani will truly seem like himself when he returns, or if he the months he spent playing by way of his accidents have left him too diminished to make his typical impression with the bat.
As Bates famous, it’s potential Ohtani might get a live batting apply session against a pitcher before returning (although the group is brief on arms at the second able to doing that, Roberts said Saturday). But past that, his Trajekt at-bats will doubtless account for the bulk of his hitting preparation before returning to game action.
“You kind of fire them out there and see what happens,” Bates said. “Just like spring training, it kind of takes guys a little bit of time to get their footing. But it depends on the person. Every guy is a little bit different with how much time they need. Some guys don’t need a lot.”
Ohtani, Bates said, is in that latter class.
And up to now, no less than, his hitting progression goes about in addition to they might have hoped.
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