Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound has drifted further and further out, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts isn’t pretending otherwise anymore.
Ohtani has not pitched for Los Angeles since July 3, with knee and biceps injuries slowing the comeback he’s been chasing for weeks. The Dodgers had hoped he could build back up to five innings before the postseason, but that plan has already lost steam. His bullpen session was cut short last Friday, and now the possibility of him taking a live-game mound appearance this season feels increasingly thin.
That’s where the real dilemma starts. Ohtani has been brilliant when healthy, going 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA as a starter. But Roberts made clear the Dodgers are weighing whether the pitching chase is costing them too much on the other side of the ball, especially if postseason starts are unlikely anyway.
“I think that I certainly know the value of him pitching, but if you’re not 100%, there’s possibly some bleed-in to the performance offensively,” Roberts told reporters. “That’s just me kind of theorizing."
The Dodgers have one built-in advantage in all of this: Ohtani only counts on the roster as a designated hitter, not as a pitcher. That gives Los Angeles some flexibility if it wants to use him in a limited role, even as an opener behind another starter.
“You know, there’s no hard timeline because any inning that he gives us is added value given his roster availability,” Roberts said. “So to say that you could give us one inning or two innings is not valuable, that’s not true.
“The cost is, does it affect his health? So there’s really no timeline, definitive deadline to say, ‘Hey, this is where we’re going to stop.’ So that’s kind of where we’re at.”
The bigger concern for the Dodgers is what Ohtani has looked like at the plate while trying to manage all of this. He’s still producing at a high level overall, but August was a clear dip by his standards, as he hit .241/.322/.472 with six home runs. Over his last 10 games, he’s batting just .103.
Roberts didn’t dodge that reality after Thursday’s game, when Ohtani struck out four times.
“I’ve seen it over the last couple weeks, where he hasn’t been who he is," Roberts said after Thursday's game in which Ohtani struck out four times. "I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup.
If he's upright, he should play. I respect that.
But if he's feeling the way that visibly looks, then really not helping anyone. So that's the conversation I'll have with him."
At this point, the Dodgers are left with a straightforward question: keep pushing Ohtani toward pitching, or protect the bat that matters most to their offense right now. Roberts said the decision will ultimately come down to Ohtani himself.
"It’s his decision, honestly," Roberts said. "If he feels like he’s capable, then we’ll run the plan out until it doesn’t make any sense.”
In Other News...
Dodgers Shut Down An Unlikely October Hero With Bigger Questions Ahead
Will Kleins improbable rise out of the Dodgers bullpen has run into a tough pause at the worst possible time. The right-hander was shifted to the 60-day injured list because of right elbow discomfort, a move that closes the book on his regular season and forces the club to shuffle its relief corps heading into the final stretch.
Blake Treinen was activated to take Kleins spot, giving the Dodgers another familiar late-inning arm as they sort through October planning. The bigger question now is whether Klein will be available for the postseason at all, and for a team that has leaned on unexpected contributors before, his health suddenly matters just as much as his emergence did. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Have A Pitching Question They Can't Ignore
The Dodgers bullpen churned again around an 8-6, 10-inning loss to the Cardinals, with the club making another round of roster moves that underscored how fragile the pitching picture has become. Blake Treinen came off the injured list, Eric Lauer went on the 15-day injured list, and Will Klein was shifted to the 60-day injured list because of elbow issues, leaving Los Angeles juggling availability even as the calendar tightens.
The more concerning development came after the game, when Dave Roberts said one Dodgers pitcher has hit a setback in his recovery and is currently shut down because of arm fatigue. For a team that keeps trying to patch together innings on the fly, it is the kind of update that can change the conversation quickly, especially with October in view and the margin for more pitching trouble growing thinner. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Left A Rising Outfielder Waiting For One Frustrating Reason
The Dodgers used their roster expansion to bring up catcher Dalton Rushing and infielder Alex Freeland, but the move also left outfielder James Tibbs in Triple-A for now. Tibbs had been in the conversation for a call-up after turning in a strong run at the top minor-league level, yet the club chose the more straightforward path by leaning on players already on the 40-man roster and keeping its options open.
For a prospect with Tibbs profile, the delay is more frustrating than alarming. He remains one of the organizations more intriguing young outfielders and is still viewed as a player who should get to the majors in the next couple of years, but this first opening never materialized. For now, the Dodgers are prioritizing flexibility over a longer look at a bat that had at least put itself firmly in the discussion. [Read more 🡒]