WASHINGTON — Dave Roberts thinks Shohei Ohtani can be even better with more plate discipline with runners in scoring position.

The Los Angeles Dodgers manager approached the two-time AL MVP about a week ago to discuss how Ohtani could better control the strike zone.

“I thought he was expanding a little bit more than he needed to,” Roberts said Tuesday. “So, I just wanted to have a conversation with him.”

Ohtani hit his 176th home run Sunday, surpassing Hideki Matsui for the most in Major League Baseball among players born in Japan. Ohtani entered Tuesday night’s game in Washington leading the major leagues in batting average (.368), hits (35), doubles (11) and total bases (63).

“Any time he swings the bat he can change the game, and now being even more disciplined in the strike zone just makes him more scary,” Roberts said.

Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels and joined the Dodgers in December for a record 10-year, $700 million contract. The two-way star had elbow surgery in September and won’t pitch this season.

Roberts has noticed Ohtani getting comfortable in his surroundings, acclimating with his new teammates and coaches.

“He is doing a great job with everyone,” Roberts said. “The hitting coaches are kind of building a really good relationship and trust. I see him more [now]. Before you sort of just see him when he gets in the batter’s box. So, he’s around a lot more, which is a good thing, too.”

With a goal of participating in his 17th major league season, veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto agreed to a minor league deal with the World Series champion Texas Rangers, according to multiple reports.

Cueto, 38, will be trying to pitch in the major leagues for his fourth organization in four seasons, and sixth overall, after he made 13 appearances (10 starts) for the Miami Marlins last season and 25 appearances (24 starts) for the Chicago White Sox in 2022. He finished the last of his six seasons with the San Francisco Giants in 2021.

In 368 career appearances (363 starts), Cueto is 144-111 with a 3.50 ERA for the Cincinnati Reds (2008-15), Kansas City Royals (2015), Giants, White Sox and Marlins. He was 1-4 with a 6.02 ERA for Miami in 2023, missing time with a biceps injury and a viral infection.

Cueto finished in the top six of National League Cy Young Award voting three times, including a runner-up finish in 2014 as a member of the Reds, when he earned one of his two All-Star Game nods.

With the Royals, Cueto made just 13 starts but helped the club to the 2015 World Series title.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer is set to make a minor league rehab start Wednesday, which will be the first game action for the 39-year-old since back surgery during the offseason.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner is scheduled to start for Triple-A Round Rock at home against Salt Lake, the Los Angeles Angels‘ affiliate.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and Scherzer said the plan is to throw about 50 pitches. The right-hander threw 40 pitches in a simulated game Friday.

Scherzer had surgery Dec. 15 to repair a herniated disk in his lower back. The eight-time All-Star was forced from his start in Game 3 of the World Series after three innings because of back discomfort.

An MRI after the Rangers won the World Series showed some inflammation in Scherzer’s back. He started feeling better before experiencing nerve pain in his leg, then twice had epidural injections before another MRI revealed the herniated disk.

Scherzer was a trade-deadline acquisition for the Rangers last summer, and was 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts before missing the last two weeks of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs because of a strained muscle in his right shoulder.

His 3,367 career strikeouts are the most among active pitchers, 21 more than Justin Verlander. Scherzer is second on the list of active pitchers with 214 wins and 448 games started.