Los Angeles Dodgers Japanese star Shohei Ohtani will return to pitching twice this year, and with his return to the pitcher's mound this season, he is expected to steal significantly fewer bases. Dodgers first base coach Chris Woodward revealed that the team will prioritize Ohtani's physical load and limit his base thefts to ensure his health throughout the season and help the team perform in the playoffs.

Shohei Ohtani set a record last year for the most of 59 base thefts by a Japanese player in a single season in a major league, but Woodward said he will be more cautious this season to avoid adding to Ohtani's physical burden by stealing too many bases.

He said that last year, he knew that Shohei Ohtani would not be able to pitch, so he encouraged him to steal more bases, but letting him steal bases every game was not the best option. The Dodgers coaching team gave Ohtani the "green light" last year, allowing Ohtani to interpret the game himself, and last year's World Series, Ohtani's accidental injury to the base, made Ohtani's health management particularly important this year, confirming that many games will have a ban on base-stealing, Woodward said: "The whole season this year, about 20 to 30 bases, it's hard to predict the actual number, I think the plan is more important, with Ohtani's ability, it's easy to shoot 20-30 bases." He also revealed that the team will work closely with head coach Dave Roberts and the relevant team to develop a suitable base stealing plan for Ohtani.

In addition to the base-stealing strategy, Ohtani will further improve his base-sliding technique in this year's spring training. "Ohtani had a shoulder and wrist injury due to a slippage, and improving that part was an important goal for us this year." Woodward pointed out that in the past, Ohtani's sliding maneuvers tended to put pressure on his left wrist and elbow, increasing the risk of injury, but this year he will adjust to a straight base for his upper body to reduce the probability of injury.