Padres HOFer claims "Shohei Ohtani is Zack Wheeler, Gerrit Cole" level, rating Yoshinobu Yamamoto a notch below his Dodgers teammate
Shohei Ohtani will return as a two-way star next season after playing the entirety of the 2024 season only as a designated hitter. He's reportedly rehabbing well off his elbow surgery and aims to be on the mound next Spring for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Conversations are taking place about Ohtani adding the only hardware missing in his cabinet: the Cy Young Award which is awarded to the best pitcher in each league (AL and NL).
Among the top modern-day pitchers today, names like Gerrit Cole and Zack Wheeler come across. San Diego Padres Hall of Famer Jake Peavy is putting the LA Dodgers star in the same echelon and feels as a pitcher, placing him even higher than his fellow countrymen and teammate, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
"Shohei Ohtani as our number one starter is better than Yamamoto in the five innings he gives you with the fastball and split," Peavy told Adnan Virk on MLB Network on Friday. "He doesn’t quite have the breaking ball or slider yet at the level Ohtani has. I’m telling you, Shohei Ohtani, when he’s right, is as good as any pitcher in baseball.
"He is Zack Wheeler, he is Gerrit Cole. It’s truly remarkable to think about how good he is at pitching while also doing what he does offensively. There’s nothing left to say other than he’s going to go down as the best baseball player of all time," he added.
(from 2:39 mark onwards)
Shohei Ohtani shares update on his latest surgery
After unanimously winning his third MVP title (his first in the National League), Shohei Ohtani has a whole offseason to rest and rehab off two surgeries. One was the elbow surgery he had in September 2023 which restricted him from pitching till 2024 and the latest was an arthroscopic surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder on November 5. He hurt his shoulder in World Series Game 2 against the New York Yankees.
Ohtani provided an update on his current situation following surgery.
“We’ve already removed the stitches,” the Japanese star said Thursday via FoxSports.com. “The current goal is to bring back my range of motion. Today we started working on core and we’re slowly ramping up right now. We’ve been stuck in rehab every day and I’ve been sitting on my bed relaxing. We haven’t been able to take some time to celebrate as a family.
“The goal is to be ready for Opening Day that includes hitting and pitching, but we are kind of taking our time,” he added. “Obviously want to make sure I’m healthy first. We’re not going to rush anything. We’re going to take a little bit more time and be conservative.”
When asked about next year, Shohei Ohtani said he's motivated to win more World Series rings. He may do that sooner rather than later as the 2025 World Series odds suggest the Dodgers will repeat as champions.