Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani attended the team's spring training home in Arizona on Sunday to undergo a medical in preparation for the delayed MLB season.
The Angels will begin practicing Monday, around a month later than usual, after Major League Baseball players and owners agreed to terms on a new labor deal, ending the league's 99-day lockout.
MLB Opening Day will fall a week late on April 7, with a full slate of 162 games to be played this year. Games will be made up in doubleheaders just before the playoffs.
Ohtani, the American League's unanimous 2021 MVP, hugged teammates and waved to fans from the parking lot on his way into the training ground.
Coming off a historic season in which he won nine games as a pitcher and hit 46 home runs, the 27-year-old two-way talent will target further milestones in his fifth year in the majors.
He is expected to be the Angels' Opening Day starting pitcher and could make another tilt at becoming the first Japanese player to win the major league home run crown.
He will also aim to lead the Angels back to the postseason after a long playoff drought.
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