It’ll be Ohtani’s first time throwing a baseball since undergoing his second elbow ligament reconstruction surgery on Sept. 19.
SEOUL — was always going to be a central figure this week, with his debut set for Wednesday night against the at Gocheok Skydome in Seoul, South Korea. Yet the more important development for the two-time MVP’s two-way future will come when the club returns this weekend to Los Angeles.
Neal ElAttrache, who performed both of Ohtani’s elbow procedures , this week that the 29-year-old had an “enhanced version” of Tommy John this time around that also included an internal brace — a braided suture to help support his new ligament — and that Ohtani is scheduled to start facing hitters in the last week of September and that all should go well. “I think with Shohei, anything is possible,” Roberts said. “I hadn’t heard that one, but if that’s what Dr. Neal said, then he’s the expert.