It’s been nearly two years since Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani pitched in an MLB game. The last time he took the mound was on Aug. 23, 2023 while a member of the Los Angeles Angels, when he went just 1 1/3 innings against the Cincinnati Reds.

He would undergo elbow surgery that September. He hasn’t faced batters since, but Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior revealed that could soon change.

During an interview with the “Dodgers Territory” podcast, Prior said Ohtani could face live batters for the first time as soon as next month as he’s been accelerating his bullpen sessions.

“He is getting closer. In his last couple of bullpens, he’s really ramped up the intensity in all of his pitches,” explained Prior. “I think we’re getting close to where he can start facing some hitters. Whether that’s in the next couple of weeks, or as we turn into June — the latter part of June — I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”

However, when Ohtani faces hitters will depend on how he feels after games, because as Prior puts it, it’s “always a little TBD” because of what Ohtani does offensively and the stress it takes on his body.

“He’s kind of an outlier situation.

There’s days where he goes four-for-four, and he’s running around on the base paths and he comes in the next day and he’s feeling tired and exhausted,” noted Prior. “So the throwing work volume needs to be cut short or tweaked to kind of manage that. It’s been an ongoing learning process I think for everybody involved.”

Even though he’s not pitching, Ohtani is still on pace to win back-to-back National League MVP awards, and his fourth overall.

He’s tied for the MLB lead in home runs with 17 and also tops baseball in runs scored with 52. He’s slashing .304/.398/.655 with a 194 OPS+ and 2.6 bWAR.