Shohei Ohtani is not finished with his season quite yet.The Japanese sensation expects to be in uniform with his teammates when the Los Angeles Angels (68-72) open a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox (56-84) on Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field. Ohtani is no longer an option to pitch after learning this week that he needs Tommy John surgery http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-dustin-mcgowan-jersey , but he remains willing and able to contribute at the plate.Clearly, a damaged elbow ligament has not hindered his ability to swing the bat. Ohtani is coming off a dominant performance in which he went 4-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs and a stolen base in a 9-3 win over the Texas Rangers.Article continues below ...If Ohtani undergoes surgery, as his team’s physicians recommend, he will likely not pitch again until the 2020 season. But the club remains committed to his future as a two-way star, which is part of what lured him to the Angels as a free agent.“If you’re going to hit huge home runs and throw 100 miles an hour, it’s a lot for your body to endure,” Angels general manager Billy Eppler said recently to The Athletic. “He trains, he eats and he sleeps like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He’s an extremely gifted athlete and an extremely talented athlete. Is throwing hard good? Yes, it helps you get out hitters. Is throwing hard dangerous? Yes, it stresses ligaments.“Shohei has demonstrated the ability to be impactful on both sides of the baseball. That is something that we, and I think every team would want impact in both the batter’s box and on the mound. He brings that here. His body does go through more stress than the average player’s, but however, his strength, his biological makeup, has shown that he can endure it.”As a team Carlos Gomez Jersey , the Angels also have endured plenty. They have lost 12 of their past 18 games and must confront the possibility of their third consecutive losing season under longtime manager Mike Scioscia.Meanwhile, Chicago is guaranteed a sub-.500 season, but the mood has brightened in recent weeks thanks to improved starting pitching and timely hitting. The White Sox have won eight of 13, 14 of 22 and 19 of 33 as they look toward next year.Left-hander Carlos Rodon (6-4, 2.89 ERA), who will make his 16th start of the season, has been a big part of the recent success for the White Sox. The 25-year-old is 5-1 with a 2.19 ERA in his last 10 outings.In four career starts against the Angels, Rodon is 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA. He has walked nine and fanned 25 in 23 innings.“He’s had situations in which he’s been down over the last couple years and not completed the whole season through injuries or what have you,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria recently said to reporters. “This year, he’s kind of been able to build on what he’s doing right now, he’s feeling confident, and I think it’s something he can run with.”The Angels will counter with right-hander Felix Pena (1-4, 4.19 ERA), who will make his 14th start. The former Chicago Cubs reliever is coming off a strong outing in which he limited the Houston Astros to two runs (one earned) in seven innings.In Pena’s only career appearance against the White Sox, he allowed two runs in six innings (3.00 ERA) and took the loss.Chicago is 28-44 at home this season. Los Angeles is 34-38 on the road. PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki fluidly went through a variety of stretches on the floor in the Seattle Mariners clubhouse even before going onto the field. Once outside http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-adeiny-hechavarria-jersey , he smoothly went through fielding, hitting and baserunning drills.At 45 and in spring training again, Suzuki is working toward the chance to play for his original major league team in his home country.“Being able to put on the Seattle Mariners uniform as a player, being here the first day, it is just amazing, it is great,” Suzuki said through a translator. “Very satisfied with today and how it went, and I’m just going to take it day by day.”The former MVP and 10-time All-Star outfielder is in camp on a minor league deal after serving in a special assistant’s role most of last year when he still worked out with the team. If he’s healthy, Suzuki will be part of the Mariners’ expanded 28-player roster next month for their season-opening two games in Tokyo against Oakland.“My body really hasn’t changed,” he said.Suzuki, who said he took off only two or three days from working out during the offseason, checked in at camp with only 7 percent body fat.“He looks unbelievable, like he’s prepared every minute of every day to get to this time, and it’s probably because he has,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “He’s so focused on his goals, and right now his goal is to make sure that he is on that plane when we leave for Tokyo.”Large groups of fans and Japanese media followed Suzuki everywhere he went during the first workout.When asked how much he looked forward to the Japan series Sergio Romo Jersey , Suzuki insisted that he’s not yet thinking about that. The player with 4,367 career hits — 3,089 in the 18 big league seasons and 1,278 in nine seasons in Japan before that — is focused on his daily work.“I think a 45-year-old baseball player really shouldn’t be thinking about the future. It’s about today,” said Suzuki, who would be MLB’s active career hits leader if he’s on the big league roster, seven more than Albert Pujols since Adrian Beltre retired after last season with 3,166 hits.After the Japan series, it is unclear where or even if Suzuki would fit into a team that is in a rebuild mode with a focus on younger players, and 34 newcomers for the start of camp. And there will be three fewer roster spots after those first two games against the A’s.No matter what happens, Suzuki said the Mariners uniform would be the last he will wear in the big leagues.Dipoto said the team is set with its primary outfielders— Mitch Haniger, Domingo Santana and newcomer Mallex Smith — along with veteran newcomer Jay Bruce, who is expected to float between the corner outfield spots, first base and designated hitter. While Smith is dealing with some right elbow discomfort, manager Scott Servais said the issue isn’t serious.“Today I was talking to Jay Bruce and found out that he’s 31,” Suzuki said. “He’s 14 years younger than me. I was pretty shocked about that.”The Mariners also have Yusei Kikuchi Matt Duffy Jersey , a 27-year-old rookie from Japan who relishes the opportunity to play with the outfielder he watched growing up.“One of my goals when I turned pro as time went by was that one day that I would play with players that were kids when I was still playing,” Suzuki said. “And right now I’m at the point I’m playing with guys that were in grade school when I was playing here. That was more of a goal that I had, so I think through those years working hard and being able to be where I am today definitely gives me satisfaction.”Suzuki was both the 2001 AL Rookie of the Year and MVP with the Mariners, and won a pair of AL batting titles. After being traded to the Yankees midway through 2012 and playing parts of three seasons in New York, he had three seasons in Miami before 44 at-bats in limited action with the Mariners early last season.“He’ll have as much energy, if not more, than the rest of the guys. It’s just how he’s wired,” said Servais, the manager only six years older than Suzuki. “He’s always ready. Our young players are going to be blown away, like this guy is how old, how long has he been doing this. That’s why he’s the greatest. He’s awesome.”