GLENDALE, Ariz. -- All it took was one swing for Shohei Ohtani to quell any early concerns about his surgically repaired left shoulder.
Making his highly anticipated Cactus League debut on Friday against his former team in an eventual 6-5 Dodgers win, Ohtani hit a long home run to left field in his first at-bat of the evening. The fans at Camelback Ranch, many of whom had been on their feet and recording on their phones since Ohtani stepped to the plate, seemed to know it was gone off the bat.
Ohtani managed to one-up his debut from the previous spring, when he went deep in his first game wearing a Dodgers uniform -- but not until his final trip to the plate. He provided more immediate gratification on Friday.
"Given where we're at in Spring Training," manager Dave Roberts said, "I would not have thought he had surgery this offseason. He's in a good spot."
With the Dodgers facing an Angels split squad, excitement was high for the game, which also featured Yusei Kikuchi as the Halos' starting pitcher. Ohtani and Kikuchi, who is three years older, attended the same high school, Hanamaki Higashi in the Iwate Prefecture of Japan.
Kikuchi, who left the game with two outs in the first but was able to re-enter due to Spring Training rules, won the next matchup, getting Ohtani to pop out to shortstop in the second inning. Ohtani's third and final at-bat ended in a swinging strikeout in the fifth.
He shook his shoulder a little after the aggressive swing, but he said he was just checking to make sure it felt OK.
"My last at-bat, the last swing, I was pretty late and my shoulder felt great," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "That was a good test."
"Obviously, he's fine," Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. "That first home run, he was able to hit it that far. So, yeah, I'm sure he's going to be able to put up the same numbers this year as he did last year."
Ohtani had a storybook first season with the Dodgers, becoming the founding member of the 50-50 club, earning his third unanimous MVP Award and winning his first World Series ring. Anticipation has been high for how he might follow up that campaign, especially because he is also due to return as a pitcher in May.
Ohtani has not taken a big league mound since undergoing right elbow surgery in September 2023, and left shoulder surgery last November pushed back his offseason program as he worked to build up for a starting role this year. He isn't expected to pitch in Cactus League games, but he has prepared to be ready to DH when the Dodgers open the season against the Cubs on March 18 and 19 in the Tokyo Series.
The Dodgers had not been overly concerned about how the shoulder surgery would affect Ohtani as a batter because the procedure was performed on his back shoulder, which should have less of an impact on his swing than his lead shoulder.
"I think he can be as productive [as in 2024]," Roberts said. "I don't think he's going to get the same number of at-bats, plate appearances, given that he's going to be pitching. I don't think he's going to steal as many bases, just appreciating the fact that he does need to pitch and saving his legs.
"But as far as kind of performance per plate appearance, I still think he can be just as productive. And I'm sure Shohei is expecting the same thing."
Once Ohtani returns to pitching, the Dodgers expect that he might need more rest than usual, at least from the outset. Roberts didn't want to speculate on how that would look, as there's no blueprint to follow for rehabbing a two-way player, other than when Ohtani himself came back from his 2018 Tommy John surgery.
More days off for Ohtani could allow the Dodgers to get others in the lineup off their feet. Freddie Freeman (ankle surgery) and Will Smith (ankle bone bruise) are among those who could benefit from occasional DH days. Both are considered as healthy as they're going to be, but they'll also have to manage lingering ailments early on in the regular season.
Despite all the fanfare around his performance, Ohtani was just satisfied that his return to game action went smoothly.
"Regardless of the results, the biggest takeaway was being able to go through my three at-bats with no issues physically," Ohtani said. "I felt really good."