GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Shohei Ohtani's sweeper made its first appearance of the year during the Los Angeles Dodgers' first official workout of spring training Wednesday.

It was off flat ground, at nowhere close to full intensity, but it stood as the latest sign that Ohtani's return to pitching -- and, thus, a two-way role -- is approaching.

Ohtani will throw his first traditional bullpen session at some point this weekend, he said, at which point he will begin the process of preparing to join the Dodgers' star-studded rotation by May, if not sooner.

Asked how he'll juggle hitting and pitching again, Ohtani said he wanted to "play as much as possible, as many games as possible."

"But if the team feels like I should get a break," Ohtani added through an interpreter, "I'll follow that."

The Los Angeles Angels essentially let Ohtani dictate his schedule while hitting and pitching from 2021 to 2023, paving the way for an unprecedented three-year stretch consisting of two unanimous MVP awards and a runner-up finish. The Dodgers might ultimately give Ohtani similar leeway, most notably by allowing him to hit on the days when he pitches. But they are being noticeably cautious on the front end in hopes of making sure he's as fresh as possible down the stretch.

Ohtani wasn't expected to pitch in any Cactus League games, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, adding that he also doesn't want to see him attempting stolen bases during spring training. Given his importance to the lineup, the Dodgers probably will stage simulated games in April that will allow Ohtani to face hitters in game-like environments without having to send him out on a rehab assignment. Once he joins the rotation, Ohtani will be among six starters, which will basically have him starting once a week.

Roberts also anticipated Ohtani taking more days off as a designated hitter this year, and the widely held belief is that he would take a step back from running after his 59-steal season in 2024 -- but that was still to be determined.

"We haven't gotten there yet as far as what he's comfortable with, what he feels good about," Roberts said. "I'm looking forward to those conversations, but it's obviously going to be a little more complex than it was last year."

At the moment, Ohtani has his mind set on being the Dodgers' DH when they open their season in his native Japan for a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs on March 18 and 19. Ohtani said his surgically repaired left shoulder, which sustained a torn labrum during the World Series, has been giving him "some discomfort" but that it is "not really debilitating."

"Just a limited range of motion," Ohtani added. "I've gone through it with the elbow before, and with the shoulder it's a little bit more complicated. I do believe that's the part that I have to be patient."

As a group, the Dodgers don't have much time for patience. They'll open their season nine days before 28 other teams and are already working to get their pitchers ready for it. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one of Japan's most celebrated starters, is on track to begin the season opener at the Tokyo Dome. Roki Sasaki, yet another celebrated Japanese ace, is on track to start the second game, though the Dodgers first want to see how the 23-year-old right-hander assimilates to his first experience in the United States.

"Having this opportunity to open the season in Japan with a major league team is really special," said Sasaki, the highly touted pitching phenom who chose to join the Dodgers last month. "I just want to make sure that I'm prepared to be ready for that."

Sasaki was among the pitchers who threw bullpen sessions in the backfields of Camelback Ranch on Wednesday. Dozens of photographers, camera operators and reporters lined one side of the field; a slew of Dodgers coaches and executives -- and Clayton Kershaw, who's still rehabbing offseason foot and knee surgeries -- watched from behind.

Sasaki admitted that he felt "some nerves" and that his body "maybe wasn't moving the way that I was expecting it to." But Austin Barnes, who crouched behind home plate, was impressed with the ride on his fastball and the movement of his splitter.

"I haven't really seen a pitch like that before," said Barnes, the longtime backup catcher who faced Sasaki while playing for Team Mexico during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. "It's different than Yamamoto's. It's good. It's hard to catch sometimes. It's moving all over the place."

Sasaki's first taste of the major leagues will begin without any artificial limitations, even though he combined for only 210 innings with the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2023 to 2024. The Dodgers believe the six-man rotation will benefit Sasaki just as much as it will help Ohtani as he transitions back into a two-way role, but their depth will allow them to build in additional rest at the first signs of fatigue.

Preserving Sasaki's health is their most important task in Year 1.

"I do feel confident that as long as he's healthy, that he'll be able to perform well," Ohtani said. "The important thing is for him to be acclimating to the environment that he's in."

TAMPA -- Nearly a year after suffering an elbow injury that pushed his season debut back to June, New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole said he is "in a really good spot" compared with recent years after starting his offseason throwing program earlier than in previous winters.

The right-hander posted a 3.41 ERA in 17 regular-season starts in 2024 before recording a 2.17 ERA in five postseason outings, including a seven-inning gem in Game 4 of an American League Division Series to close out the Kansas City Royals.

Now, two years removed from winning the AL Cy Young Award and entering his age-34 season, Cole expects to regain his place among baseball's best hurlers.

"My expectations are the same," Cole said after the Yankees' first official spring training workout.

For 48 hours in early November, just days after the World Series ended, it appeared as though there was a chance Cole's days as a Yankee could've been over. The star right-hander opted out of his contract -- a nine-year, $324 million pact that registered as the largest contract ever for a pitcher when he signed before the 2020 season -- with four years and $144 million remaining, giving the Yankees two days to void the opt-out with a one-year, $36 million extension.

The Yankees chose not to, giving Cole a path to free agency. Instead, after discussions between the two sides, Cole chose to remain with the organization on the four-year, $144 million contract he opted out of, as if he had not exercised the clause.

"The intention wasn't to do anything other than stay," Cole said Wednesday. "I was happy to be where my feet were, back in Yankee Stadium."

Manager Aaron Boone said he thought there was a chance Cole could hit the open market where he would surely garner another rich long-term contract. As for potential awkwardness after the brief tango between the two sides, Boone said Cole immediately expunged any.

"He had a good way about it," Boone said. "He came in, just talked about it openly after the fact when he came back in. So he kind of put us at ease a little bit, and [had] a laugh. And certainly, obviously, I'm excited that he came back."

Cole's return was the Yankees' first transaction in what became an active offseason. Within a week, the Yankees exercised the 2025 option on Boone's contract. A month after that, Juan Soto spurned them to sign a record-breaking deal with the New York Mets, spurring the club to quickly make a series of moves to improve the roster by the new year.

Max Fried was signed to an eight-year contract atop the starting rotation alongside Cole. Closer Devin Williams and outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger were acquired in trades. Paul Goldschmidt signed a one-year deal to play first base. Reliever Fernando Cruz came over in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds for backup catcher Jose Trevino. The result is a roster that is very different from the group that advanced to the franchise's first World Series in 15 years, but one that is expected to compete for another AL pennant nonetheless.

"He's a tremendous player," Cole said of Soto. "He was extremely impactful for us, and a joy to watch and a joy to be around. So, Juan will be missed for a certain extent. But the beauty of the Yankees is the ability to go out and fill the roster and fill the spots with the goal of getting back to the World Series and winning the World Series again."

Cole was in the middle of the Yankees' fifth-inning meltdown against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the deciding Game 5 of the World Series, which led a few members of the winning club to bluntly criticize New York's shortcomings. While Boone said he would like his team "to handle things with a little more class" if the Yankees find themselves in that position, Cole said he didn't pay much attention to the comments.

"It's a good push for us," Cole said of falling short in the World Series. "We're really proud of what we did. At the same time, we walked away from the season with a bitter taste in our mouths and just a real terrible feeling."

Other notes from Yankees camp:

Right-hander Eric Reyzelman, a non-roster invitee to spring training, suffered an allergic reaction before Wednesday's workout and was admitted to a local hospital, where he was slated to stay overnight, according to a team spokesperson. Reyzelman, 23, was a fifth-round pick out of LSU in 2022. He recorded a 1.16 ERA in 31 games (one start) across three minor league levels last season, culminating with 23 appearances in Double-A.

Boone said that Ben Rice is "definitely" in contention for the team's backup catcher job but that the club doesn't view him as solely a catcher. Rice, 25 and a catcher by trade, made his major league debut last season, appearing in 50 games but logging just one inning at catcher. He started 41 games at first base, batting .171 with seven home runs and a .613 OPS in 178 plate appearances as a rookie.

The US Open has received strong criticism following its decision to hold its mixed doubles competition as a standalone event before the start of the Slam from 2025.

Organisers said it hoped the move would encourage top singles players to participate in the mixed doubles, which will be held over two days in the week leading up to the start of the main draw in New York.

However, the decision has been described as a "profound injustice" by last year's winners Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori amid a backlash from players.

The US Open mixed doubles will be held on 19-20 August, before the hard-court Slam - which from this year is expanding to a 15-day event - begins on Sunday, 24 August.

"Making decisions just following the logic of profit is profoundly wrong in some situations," Italians Errani and Vavassori said in a joint statement.

"In the last few weeks we received the news that the US Open mixed doubles tournament will be completely turned upside down, cancelled and replaced with a pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show.

"We see it as a profound injustice that disrespects an entire category of players. We don't know at the moment if we'll have the chance to defend our title but we hope this remains an isolated case."

The US Open organisers said the change would allow "the sport's biggest stars" to participate in mixed doubles and claimed "excitement is high among the game's stars who have already expressed intent to compete" in the new format.

American players Taylor Fritz, the men's world number four, and Jessica Pegula, fifth in the women's rankings, have both expressed their intention to participate, while Holger Rune replied to the US Open's announcement on X saying "Interesting".

World number seven Elena Rybakina said she is "disappointed" at the WTA's decision to uphold the ban against her former coach Stefano Vukov following an independent investigation into his behaviour towards the player.

It was announced in January that the Croat had been provisionally suspended after allegedly breaching the WTA's Code of Conduct.

On Tuesday, the WTA - the governing body of women's tennis - confirmed Vukov's ban had been upheld.

"I'm just disappointed with the situation, and how the process went. I'm not going to comment much more," the 25-year-old said after her win over Rebecca Sramkova at the Qatar Open on Wednesday.

"I'm focusing on my matches, and when I go on the court I'm thinking only about the way I need to play.

"It's not the best time, but I want to perform as best as I can."

The WTA has not specified how long Vukov will be banned for and it is not known which part of the code he has broken.

But the manner in which he spoke to her - on and off court at tournaments - has come under scrutiny.

The 37-year-old helped Rybakina to win Wimbledon in 2022 but their five-year partnership ended days before the 2024 US Open in August.

The WTA's decision means Rybakina will not be able to bring Vukov back on to her team - something she hoped to do at the start of the year.

Vukov denies any wrongdoing and told The Athletic last month that he had "never abused anyone", while Rybakina also said at this year's Australian Open she has never made "any complaints" about Vukov.

The WTA did not provide details on the length of the suspension but Vukov can appeal against the decision.

Rybakina worked briefly with Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanisevic on a trial basis, but he left her team after a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open.

Ireland prop Finlay Bealham has predicted Wales will "be coming out firing" when the sides meet in round three of the Six Nations at the Principality Stadium on 22 February.

The hosts are bottom of the table with only one losing bonus point to show for defeats by France and Italy, and on Tuesday replaced head coach Warren Gatland with Cardiff's Matt Sherratt for the remainder of the championship.

Ireland are chasing a third consecutive Six Nations crown and, having already beaten England and Scotland, would secure the Triple Crown with victory in Cardiff.

"It's another away game in a really prestigious stadium," said Bealham before news of Gatland's departure.

"It's Wales' first game at home as well, so they'll be well up for it, backs against the wall. I've no doubt they'll be coming out firing.

"We'll go in with the utmost respect and do our thing."

Some feel after Townsend's eighth Six Nations in charge it will be time for a change, but Beattie says given the lack of player depth in Scotland, the national team has punched above its weight on Townsend's watch.

Despite the bruising defeat by Ireland at Murrayfield, Beattie insists a change would not necessarily lead to an upturn in fortunes.

"Gregor, over his tenure, has got quite a lot out of this squad, probably more than most other coaches," he added. "And I think his win percentage is better than most other Scottish coaches historically.

"So people have incredibly short memories. I know the weekend was horrible to watch. Gregor actually doesn't have a big player pool, doesn't have a bunch of physical animals.

"We'll always be on an uphill battle with the numbers, we have a really shallow pool of talent.

"And I think, actually, he's got a lot out of the players that we have over the past five, six, seven seasons. So it's disappointing, but be careful what you wish for."

Since Dennis John led the disastrous tour of South Africa in 1998 following the resignation of Kevin Bowring, Wales has only been led by a Welshman for four of the next 27 years.

So could a Welsh coach become the first national coach since Gareth Jenkins in 2007?

Former Wales wing Mark Jones has made a rapid rise through the ranks from assistant coach, to the Wales Under-20s and now the top job at Ospreys.

Steve Tandy has earned a solid reputation as defence coach at Scotland and current forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys may pitch to step up.

Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson spent most of his early career in Wales, including third place with the under-20s at the Junior World Cup.

Shaun Edwards is hugely popular among Wales fans following his time under Gatland between 2008 and 2019 while former Wales prop Chris Horsman backed ex-England fly-half and Ireland attack coach Mike Catt.

"He's won a World Cup as a player, Grand Slams as a coach and look what he's done for the Ireland attack over the past five years," said Horsman.

"That's what we're crying out for to give Wales an identity."

London Irish Rugby Club have been bought out of administration by a consortium led by former Formula 1 team owner and businessman Eddie Jordan.

In June 2023 London Irish were forced out of the Premiership because of unpaid wages and shortly after put into administration by former owner Mick Crossan with debts of about 30m.

They were punished after missing a deadline to make those payments or complete a takeover, and as a result are currently not allowed to play in any league.

Jordan's group, called 'The Jordan Associates', says it is targeting a "swift return" to competing professionally as well as promising to "introduce an innovative fan ownership model", offering supporters the opportunity to invest in the club.

"The primary goal of the new ownership is to return London Irish Rugby Club to the pinnacle of international professional club rugby, aiming for a swift return to top-flight competition," it said.

"The Jordan Associates team will now turn its attention to negotiating a full and sustainable return for London Irish to competitive rugby, hand-in-hand with London Irish's supporter base."

The Jordan Grand Prix F1 team competed between 1991 and 2005, winning four races between 1998 and 2003.

"We are incredibly excited about this opportunity to steer London Irish towards new heights," Jordan Associates senior partner Kyle Jordan - Eddie Jordan's youngest son - said.

"Our investors bring not just financial backing but a profound passion for rugby and a commitment to the community, and in particular want to reach out to the global Irish diaspora to build the exile brand."

In December, Jordan said he had been diagnosed with a "quite aggressive" form of cancer.

The 76-year-old said he has bladder and prostate cancer which had spread to his spine and pelvis.

Jordan was a regular pundit on television when the BBC held the broadcasting rights to F1 between 2009 and 2015.

London Irish, whose historic home and training base is in Sunbury, south west London, played at Reading Football Club's ground for two decades before moving to Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium in west London in 2020.

The new owners have not specified where Irish's new home will be, but did say the club's playing base would remain in west London.