Will Shohei Ohtani play in 2024 Spring Training? Exploring Dodgers star's post-surgery workload in new role

Shohei Ohtani has dominated the offseason headlines for a variety of reasons. From his chaotic free agency and $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to recruitment efforts and surging ticket prices, Ohtani has been a daily topic this winter.

One of the less talked-about aspects of Ohtani's new start with the Dodgers is his health. The Japanese star underwent elbow surgery in September and is not expected to pitch in 2024.

While his recovery is going well and all signs point to Ohtani being the same pitcher as before, there have been questions about whether he will be ready to participate in Spring Training. Given the number of new additions needing to gel in LA, Spring Training will be a very serious endeavor for the franchise.

The good news for Dodgers fans is that Shohei Ohtani is expected to feature in Spring Training, however, this will be in a limited fashion. This was confirmed on Saturday by Dodgers general manager, Brandon Gomes.

However, Gomes admitted that Ohtani may be a bit hampered initially:

“Probably a little bit at the beginning."

Ohtani is expected to be the Dodgers' designated hitter, but it is unclear as to whether he will play a role in the outfield as well.

“We haven’t totally sat down and mapped that out yet. We’re going to be focused on the hitting portion of it.”

FOX analyst defends Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers contract

Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers contract came under scrutiny from the moment it was announced. The total value of the deal was far larger than expected and the matter of $680 million of deferred payments was an intriguing one.

This gives the franchise room to maneuver financially over the next 10 years and could potentially result in Ohtani leaving California and not having to pay tax on his deferred payments. Given that the state could potentially miss out on $98 million of tax, there has been some criticism, with some politicians saying that Ohtani is "gaming the system."

FOX analyst Charlie Hurt came to Ohtani's defense:

"Of course, he's gonna move to Florida, of course, he's gonna move to Texas after this. And why shouldn't he? So you can say he is gaming the system but yeah, that's what happens when you have a 14-plus tax rate."

While discussions of Shohei Ohtani's contract have moved into the political theater, the Dodgers will be looking to ignore the noise and focus on Spring Training. As favorites for the World Series, they need to get off to a good start in order to keep the media quiet. As to whether they can do it is a separate matter.