GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dodgers are going to give the people what they want.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that Japanese right-handers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki will likely start the two games in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs.
Over the weekend, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga will start one of the Tokyo games for the Cubs, joking that “I think that’s mandated (by MLB). I don’t think I have a choice.”
The two-game series at the Tokyo Dome on March 18 and 19 will feature an unprecedented group of Japanese stars in major-league uniforms – Yamamoto, Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers, Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki for the Cubs.
“I think it’s fair to say that Yamamoto is going to pitch that first one,” Roberts said before Wednesday’s workout. “With Roki, just kind of obviously, the plan is for him to pitch there. We’ll kind of figure out when. A lot of it is more contingent on the unknown of how he responds to spring training and his buildup and we just want to make sure that he’s in a good position and feels good about when he pitches. I don’t want to put him in a box right now.”
The Dodgers will play two exhibition games in Tokyo before facing the Cubs. Roberts said if Sasaki is ready to pitch it will be in one of the regular-season games against the Cubs, not in an exhibition.
Sasaki threw a bullpen session during Wednesday’s workout. At one point, his splitter drew an “Oh, my gosh” from catcher Austin Barnes that could be heard by the dozens of media documenting Sasaki’s spring work.
“His fastball is a big fastball, had a lot of carry, a lot of ride to it,” Barnes said. “The split finger is different. I haven’t really seen a pitch like that before. It’s different than Yamamoto’s. It’s good. It’s hard to catch sometimes. It’s moving all over the place.”
Sasaki said he “didn’t feel great” during his first spring throwing session Wednesday.
“There were obviously some nerves and then it was just a little bit colder than I was expecting today and then some mechanical things that my body wasn’t maybe moving the way that I was expecting it to,” he said through an interpreter.
The possibility of making his MLB debut for the Dodgers in Tokyo would be “special,” the 23-year-old right-hander said.
“Obviously the opportunity to open a major-league season in Japan itself is rare,” he said. “So being able to do that as a rookie is even more special. So right now I’m just focused on preparing for that.”
OHTANI PLAN
Ohtani’s full return to two-way status most likely will not come until some time in May and it won’t involve pitching in any Cactus League games. Roberts said that is not part of the plan to prepare Ohtani for a return to the mound following a second Tommy John surgery.
The Dodgers also will not be able to send Ohtani out on a minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment before he returns.
“There’s not going to be a rehab involved because obviously we need him to be active on the roster to take at-bats (as DH),” Roberts said.
Ohtani said he expects to throw his first bullpen session of the spring “some time this weekend.”
“It’s gonna be more about touching the slope,” he said through an interpreter. “I’m not sure what my intensity is going to be.”
As a hitter, Ohtani took batting practice on the field Wednesday and seemed to be swinging freely. Afterwards, though, he said he still feels “just a limited range of motion” from the November surgery on his left shoulder.
“I do feel like there’s some discomfort that I have to still overcome,” Ohtani said. “It’s not really debilitating. I feel pretty good almost getting there, to where I want it to be.
“I’ve gone through it with the elbow before (following surgery) and with the shoulder it’s a little bit more complicated. I do believe that’s the part that I have to be patient.”
Roberts said he plans to have a conversation with Ohtani about how his workload will change once he returns to pitching and hitting.
“I do think there’s going to be more off-days, as far as on the DH side.” Roberts said. “But I think, for me, we haven’t got there yet as far as what he’s comfortable with, what he feels good about. I’m looking forward to those conversations, but it’s obviously going to be a little more complex than it was last year.”
