Ohtani believes he can play OF 'right now' but focused on return to mound
Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani believes he could immediately help his team on the diamond despite recovering from a forearm strain.
"I feel like I could play the outfield right now," Ohtani said through an interpreter Friday, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. "Practice is different than playing in games, but I would give it my best."
However, Ohtani added that he's "focused on pitching. That's the plan for now."
Additionally, while Ohtani has been doing fielding drills, he's been unable to throw due to the forearm strain.
The 26-year-old hasn't pitched since Aug. 2 after being diagnosed with the injury following his second start of the year. Suffering from a dip in velocity, Ohtani didn't retire a single batter during his first outing and failed to make it out of the second inning of his subsequent start. He produced a 37.80 ERA after allowing seven runs on three hits and eight walks while striking out three.
The 2018 AL Rookie of the Year has acted solely as a designated hitter this season and hit .189/.291/.378 with five homers and five steals.