Despite signing international phenom Shohei Ohtani at the beginning of December, Los Angeles Angels general manager Billy Eppler is still doing his homework on the Japanese star.
Eppler met with Ohtani's former club, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, and manager Hideki Kuriyama in Japan on Monday to gather intel on how the Angels should use the two-way star in the future, according to The Japan Times.
"I think he wants to know how we worked with him," Kuriyama explained. "I noticed how the team is hard-working and sincere."
Nippon Ham Fighters GM Hiroshima Yoshimura also attended the meeting with Eppler and told The Japan Times that he assumed Eppler was there to gather information about how to use Ohtani during games. The Japanese club apparently supplied L.A. with data about Ohtani's pitching and training methods.
The Angels are expected to use Ohtani as both a pitcher and hitter, but Eppler told reporters in December he doesn't anticipate playing him in the outfield.
