Shohei Ohtani is entering the 2026 season with a clear objective beyond staying healthy, which is winning the NL Cy Young Award. Teammates and coaches at Los Angeles Dodgers spring training have taken notice of the 31-year-old's heightened focus on the mound.

"He wants a Cy Young," Dodgers backup catcher Dalton Rushing said. "He wants a Cy Young, and you can tell with the way he's carrying himself here recently."

Ohtani reached 98 mph during his first simulated inning against hitters on Feb. 17. Pitching coach Mark Prior and team president Andrew Friedman were among those observing.

"He seems like he's on a mission, pitching-wise," Friedman said. "Whenever we've seen him on a mission, good things happen."

Ohtani holds four unanimous MVP awards over the past five seasons. A Cy Young remains the only major individual honor he has not captured. Between elbow surgeries from 2021 to 2023, he posted a 2.84 ERA across 428⅓ innings with the Angels, a mark only two qualified pitchers in that span bettered.

His return to pitching last season was measured, beginning with single-inning outings in June and building to five innings by late August. He finished with a 3.34 ERA, 90 strikeouts and 16 walks across 67⅓ innings, including playoffs.

Prior noted Ohtani's between-inning engagement stood out immediately. Rather than resting, Ohtani reviewed pitch sequencing and hitter tendencies with his catcher and coach after every frame.

"Most guys will take a breather," Prior said. "He'll start rattling off and start talking about what's going on because he knows obviously, his time's limited."

The Dodgers are not expected to push Ohtani beyond 25 starts this season. Despite that limitation, his teammates remain confident the results will be extraordinary.

"There's no ceiling with him," catcher Will Smith said. "He can go out there and win a Cy Young this year. I have no doubt about that."