The Dodgers’ biggest pickup at the upcoming trade deadline could be a star player already on the club roster.

Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani faced hitters earlier this week in a practice pitching setting, the first time he has done so since undergoing major ligament surgery in September 2023, while still with the Angels. Three months after that procedure, Ohtani signed a record-setting, $700 million deal with the Dodgers, since eclipsed by Juan Soto, premised heavily on his highly rare status as an elite hitter and pitcher.

The hitting has certainly been there, and then some, as Ohtani won the National League Most Valuable Player award last year as a designated hitter en route to the Dodgers’ first full-season title since 1988. He’s off to a hot start again at the plate in 2025, currently leading MLB in home runs and runs scored. The practice pitching session, however, brings Ohtani a significant step closer to being back on the mound and fully reflecting his unique value.

Both Dodgers coaches and players raved about Ohtani’s 22-pitch simulated session, during which the superstar reached a peak velocity of 97 miles per hour.

“He looks good. He looked healthy,” said Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior. “That’s always the main thing with facing hitters, that he feels confident, his endurance is good, and he maintained his stuff. From that standpoint, it’s a success. Pitch movement-wise, it looked good, too.”

A specific timetable for Ohtani’s return to pitching has not been finalized, and Prior cautioned there is “still a long way to go.” There is a hope, however, that he could be ready for a return soon after the mid-July All-Star break and around the July 31 trade deadline.

The next steps for Ohtani will be to throw another bullpen session Wednesday and live batting practice this weekend.

Ohtani is already one of MLB’s biggest stars, but a return to pitching will only expand his notoriety more, and provide the league another sizable boost as it continues efforts to make its standout talents into major national and international figures.

“I’ve gotten so used to seeing him as a hitter. So to see him on the mound just solely as a pitcher, it was different and certainly exciting for all of us,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “If it kind of works as it should, he’s a top-end starter, so that’s kind of all our expectation.”