The Dodgers are inching closer to getting several important pieces back, with Blake Treinen, Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Tyler Glasnow all making progress in different stages of their returns.
Treinen took another step on Saturday night, joining Single-A Ontario and working a clean inning with two strikeouts. He retired the side in order, a promising sign as he continues a rehab assignment and looks ahead to helping Los Angeles later in the season.
Ohtani also moved forward on the mound. On Friday, he threw a bullpen session for the first time since his July 22 outing at Citizens Bank Park, which was followed by left knee soreness and discomfort in his right bicep. The two-way star used his full pitch mix, and the next phase is expected to include at least one more bullpen before he faces hitters.
“Yeah, he came out of it well,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said .”Threw his entire pitch mix. So the next step will be another bullpen, I assume, and then we’ll get him some lives.”
The Dodgers still believe Ohtani will pitch again this season, even if the ramp-up ends up being limited and resembles the pseudo rehab assignment he completed last year.
Smith reached a milestone of his own on Friday, taking batting practice on the field for the first time since his neck inflammation sidelined him. He is now pain-free in his neck and has resumed baseball activities.
“Yeah, Will Smith was really good,” Roberts said. “Came out of it well. I think he’s going to do some more stuff today, and probably given it’s Sunday, tomorrow, will be down.”
A rehab assignment for Smith should be coming soon, and his return could arrive within the next two weeks or so. Another possible target is Sept. 1, when active rosters expand.
Glasnow, meanwhile, is nearly through his own rehab work after a strong outing for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday. He struck out eight over 3.2 scoreless innings, and the Dodgers are planning one more Minor League start for him with a target of five innings and 75 pitches.
“He’s going to have one more outing. It was a good one yesterday, and so I think our thought is he’s going to do another one, five and 75, and then he’ll join us.”
If that goes smoothly, Roberts said Glasnow could be back with the Dodgers for the Aug. 25-27 series against the Atlanta Braves.
In Other News...
Tarik Skubals Dodgers Future Just Became A Bigger Story
Tarik Skubals arrival gave the Dodgers another front-line arm at the trade deadline, and the early returns have been exactly what a club in October pursuit would hope for. After spending his entire professional career with the Tigers, Skubal has already made two starts in Los Angeles and is still settling into a very different environment, one that comes with the usual demands of joining a contender in the middle of the season.
The bigger wrinkle is what comes next. Skubal is headed for free agency after the season, so while he has made clear he is excited to be with the Dodgers, the long-term fit is not remotely settled yet. For a team that always has one eye on the present and another on the future, his next few months could matter well beyond this years pennant race. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Face A Real Roki Sasaki Decision Late In Games
Edwin Dazs uneven run as the Dodgers closer has turned late innings into a more delicate conversation than the club probably expected, especially after he absorbed his fourth save blow in just 14 appearances and kept his ERA in an uncomfortable place. For a team built to survive October pressure, the ninth inning has become one of the few areas where the margin for error feels thin, and that has naturally pushed attention toward the arm that once looked like a starters long-term answer.
Roki Sasaki is suddenly part of that discussion because the Dodgers have enough rotation depth that his path to the postseason may not be as straightforward as it looked earlier in the year. If the club decides his best value is in the highest-leverage spots rather than asking him to fit into a crowded starter mix, that would say plenty about how the Dodgers now view the tradeoff between regular-season planning and winning the games that matter most late. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Have A Kyle Tucker Problem They Cant Ignore
Kyle Tucker was absent from the lineup against the Brewers on Saturday, a decision Dave Roberts framed as part of a broader response to the outfielders recent struggles, particularly at home. The Dodgers have watched Tuckers production drift enough that it has become impossible to brush aside, and Roberts pointed to the split between his home and road results as a real issue the club has been tracking.
Tucker has still put together a season line of .234 with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs, but the concern is less about the overall totals than the uneven way they have come. Roberts said Tucker would be back in the lineup the next day, leaving the Dodgers to hope the reset can help him regain some traction in the environment where he has had the toughest time finding it. [Read more 🡒]