Professional Duties Overshadow Fatherhood as Dodgers Skipper Announces Shohei Ohtani’s Anticipated Return

It’s rare to witness a star player being absent for all the right reasons. For a brief period, the curiosities around Shohei Ohtani’s absence grew louder. All fans were left guessing: injury setback? Is he okay? When will he be back? With each passing inning, the speculations were only getting fueled. Until it came to light that the Los Angeles star was stepping into fatherhood. Well, it hasn’t been a day since he entered fatherhood. But it looks like his professional duties have already started to overshadow it.

Dave Roberts said Shohei Ohtani texted him. He is expected back with #Dodgers for Sundays game.

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) April 19, 2025

Yes, our two-way phenom has welcomed a healthy baby girl into his life with wife Mamiko Tanaka. While he was on the paternity list, all looked up to manager Dave Roberts to share the news of his return to the lineup. Don’t worry, Roberts heard you. He has the much-awaited update. He revealed that Shohei Ohtani has texted him and he’s expected to be back with the Dodgers for the upcoming game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Roberts assured, “He’ll rejoin us tomorrow.”

While Ohtani was absent, veteran Eddie Rosario stepped in to fill his shoes as a designated hitter against the Rangers. Rosario has displayed flashes of brilliance time and again. But fans are now looking forward to Ohtani’s return as Rosario’s .217 batting average doesn’t quite live up to Ohtani’s .298 and 14 home runs.

The post Professional Duties Overshadow Fatherhood as Dodgers Skipper Announces Shohei Ohtani’s Anticipated Return appeared first on EssentiallySports.