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SAN DIEGO — Shohei Ohtani took a significant step in his pitching progression early Tuesday afternoon, firing 44 pitches over the course of three simulated innings from Petco Park. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts later said there is a “north of zero” chance Ohtani joins the team’s rotation before the All-Star break.

At this point, at least, Ohtani seems more likely to return as a pitcher in July as opposed to August, the latter of which previously seemed like the more logical target. The biggest reason, outside of how impressed Dodgers officials have been with Ohtani’s command despite a near two-year hiatus from pitching: The extra roster spot afforded to them.

Ohtani carries a “two-way player” designation, which, according to a rule established by Major League Baseball in 2019, allows him to pitch without counting toward a team’s 13-pitcher limit. As the 14th pitcher, the Dodgers are afforded the luxury of bringing Ohtani back before he is fully stretched out like a traditional starter. In other words, they can initially have Ohtani make two- to three-inning starts and have another pitcher lined up behind him to serve as essentially a piggyback starter.

“It certainly doesn’t have to be a full buildup,” Roberts said, “because anything that he can give us is certainly additive.”

Roberts added, though, that Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed the second repair of Ohtani’s ulnar collateral ligament in September 2023, and the Dodgers’ athletic training staff will continue to set the pace of his recovery. The team will continue to adjust accordingly — like it did by pushing Ohtani’s latest session back a day because he fouled a ball off his foot in St. Louis on Sunday.

An added layer is the Dodgers’ pitching situation. Fourteen of them are currently on the injured list, including four starters — Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and, more recently, Tony Gonsolin. Snell and Glasnow each threw a bullpen session Tuesday, but both still need to build back up.

“It’s tempting,” Roberts said of bringing Ohtani back to the rotation sooner. “I’m sure Shohei is tempted to just rip the Band-Aid off for a big league game. But I think we’ve done a good job of just being patient. And truth be told, I don’t know if anyone knows the right time to get him in a big league game. But we’re still being very careful.”

Ohtani began his pitching progression last year, while becoming the first full-time designated hitter to win an MVP, then basically shut it down for the postseason.

The Dodgers’ hopes of having Ohtani restart his throwing progression relatively early in the winter were scrapped when he tore a labrum in his left shoulder during Game 2 of the World Series, requiring offseason surgery. Spring training essentially qualified as Ohtani’s offseason throwing program. He then shut it down leading up to the March 18 opener in Japan and picked it back up when the Dodgers returned to the United States.

Ohtani faced hitters for the first time at Citi Field on May 25, throwing 22 pitches. Six days later, he threw 29. Ten days after that, he increased his output to 44. Ohtani struck out six batters, issued a walk and allowed a ground ball up the middle that would have probably gone for a single while facing a couple of Dodgers minor leaguers. Ohtani, 30, also went through game-specific elements like pitching from the stretch, incorporating a slide step and using the pitch clock. Roberts said his fastball “had life” and that his sweeper was “really good.”

Ohtani will continue to take part in simulated games every week or so, with a light bullpen session in between, until the Dodgers determine he is ready to join their rotation.

Said Roberts: “I’m just anxious for the next one.”

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Florida freshman WR Wilson to debut vs. Texas

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Florida freshman WR Wilson to debut vs. Texas

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida has offensive help on the way with a freshman receiver who just might make a difference against No. 9 Texas on Saturday.

Dallas Wilson is practicing for the first time since injuring his left foot in training camp and is scheduled to make his collegiate debut against the Longhorns, coach Billy Napier said Monday.

Napier called Wilson’s availability “a big deal.”

“Three good days of work last week, and I thought he handled the load well,” Napier said. “He feels really good. So far, so good.”

Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 213-pound newcomer from Tampa, was the star of Florida’s spring game in April. He caught 10 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, and all indications in fall practice pointed to it not being a fluke.

But Wilson injured his foot late in camp, spent weeks in a protective boot and watched from afar as the Gators (1-3, 0-1 SEC) struggled to move the ball and find the end zone. Florida scored 16, 10 and 7 points, respectively, in consecutive losses to South Florida, LSU and Miami, raising speculation about Napier’s future in Gainesville.

Quarterback DJ Lagway has been the focus of the team’s offensive woes. The sophomore who went 6-1 as a starter last season missed most of the year dealing with injuries and looked rusty when the season began.

Although Lagway’s mechanics seemed improved in the team’s 26-7 setback at Miami on Sept. 20, his offensive line got manhandled and allowed way too much pressure for anyone to notice. Lagway completed 12 of 23 passes for 61 yards against the Hurricanes.

Napier used the off week to get Lagway more live-action reps in hopes of getting him “caught up.” But he also reiterated the need to “play better around him.”

“Each position group needs to step up,” Napier said. “More detail, eliminate errors, eliminate penalties, whatever the case may be. I just think more detail and better overall play around him. And, obviously, he needs to continue to get back closer to being himself.”

Adding Wilson to the mix should help.

The Gators haven’t shown much depth at receiver. Freshman Vernell Brown III has been Lagway’s go-to guy, catching 18 passes for 219 yards. But Eugene Wilson III, J. Michael Sturdivant and Aidan Mizell have been mostly underwhelming.

Dallas Wilson has been unable to help — until now. The Gators are confident he will change the narrative against the No. 1 scoring defense in the SEC.

“Just having him out is going to be amazing for us,” Lagway said. “His ability to go deep, his ability to make plays underneath and be able to make miraculous plays with the ball in his hands, it’s going to be great to have him back.”

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Finebaum mulls leaving ESPN for U.S. Senate run

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Finebaum mulls leaving ESPN for U.S. Senate run

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum said Monday that he would consider leaving ESPN to run for the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama.

The 70-year-old Finebaum said during a recent interview with Outkick that he’d run as a Republican to fill the seat vacated by former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, who has said he’ll run for Alabama governor in the 2026 elections. Tuberville’s current Senate term ends in 2027.

The qualifying deadline to run for Senate is Jan. 26, 2026. Finebaum said he would likely have to leave his hosting and analyst duties if he decided to run. He told Outkick he’d make a decision within the next 30-45 days.

Finebaum said he hadn’t seriously considered politics, but the assassination of Charlie Kirk was the impetus to give a run at politics further thought. He noted that he had received a “text” from “one or two people in Washington” gauging his interest in politics.

“[It was] something I never thought about before,” Finebaum told Outkick.

Finebaum is currently registered as a Republican in North Carolina, where he works for the SEC Network. He told Outkick he recently moved to Alabama, where he hosted a radio show for years, and would re-register there.

Finebaum hosted radio shows in Alabama for almost 30 years before joining ESPN and the SEC Network. He started his media career as a newspaper writer and columnist.

“Alabama has always been the place I’ve felt the most welcome, that I’ve cared the most about the people,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people from Alabama for 35 years, and I feel there is a connection that is hard to explain.”

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Petrino overhauls staff, fires defensive assistants

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Petrino overhauls staff, fires defensive assistants

Bobby Petrino has fired three defensive assistants just one day after being named interim head coach at Arkansas as part of an overhaul of the Razorbacks’ coaching staff.

Petrino dismissed defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams and defensive assistant Marcus Woodson in the latest moves after being appointed interim coach for the rest of the season to replace Sam Pittman, who was fired Sunday following five-plus seasons as Arkansas’ head coach.

“I just felt like how we performed on Saturday gave me an indication that maybe Sam had lost the team a little bit because they generally had played really hard for him throughout his tenure,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said of the move, which came on the heels of a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.

Petrino, 64, returned to Arkansas in 2023 as offensive coordinator after serving in a number of jobs. In four years as the Razorbacks’ head coach, he went 34-17, including consecutive seasons with double-digit victories in 2010 and 2011.

“Coach Petrino, as we met yesterday, he accepted this opportunity with the understanding that he also wanted an opportunity to formally be a candidate for our head coaching position, and he will have that opportunity, but we’ll also subsequently run a search for our next head coach at the same time,” Yurachek said.

Pittman’s dismissal, Petrino’s temporary promotion and the defensive assistant dismissals weren’t the only changes. Chris Wilson was named the team’s interim defensive coordinator.

Petrino had high praise for Wilson, who was in his first year with the Razorbacks as an assistant defensive line coach.

“My experience [with Wilson] goes way back to having to battle against him when he had all the great defensive linemen at Mississippi State,” Petrino said. “Very, very impressed with what he’s done throughout his career. Guy’s got a Super Bowl ring. He brings a lot of credibility into the room.”

Several defensive players posted cryptic messages on social media following the firing of Williams, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2023. Yurachek and Petrino encouraged players to welcome change amid a 2-3 start to the season.

“The No. 1 thing is, you have to get used to change. You know, your whole life there’s going to be change. So how we handle that, our attitude on how we handle that, will determine how quickly we improve,” Petrino said.

Petrino was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in April 2012 that left him with four broken ribs. At first, he said he was riding alone, but a police report revealed a woman was riding with him. The woman turned out to be a former Arkansas athlete who was in a romantic relationship with the married Petrino. The coach had given her a job in the football program and a $20,000 gift.

Petrino was fired by then-athletic director Jeff Long for misleading his bosses about what happened with the accident and his relationship with the football staffer.

Pittman, 63, went 32-34 with the Razorbacks.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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