The Dodgers got a timely dose of hope in the middle of a tight National League race on Wednesday, with Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound suddenly looking possible this weekend.
Los Angeles is sitting second in the NL, one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers, and the timing matters. The Dodgers are also in the middle of a series with the Atlanta Braves after losing the opener Tuesday night, so every update carries a little extra weight right now.
Ohtani has been limited to hitting for the past month while he deals with a lingering knee injury that has kept him off the mound. The team had already shut him down from pitching before the All-Star break in an effort to manage the problem, but the issue has stuck around. SI’s Matt Levine noted that the Dodgers have been without Ohtani’s pitching for over a month because of an ongoing knee and biceps injury, and that even after a lubricant shot in his knee, the injury has not healed the way the club wants to see.
The knee issue first showed up in June, when Ohtani had to leave a game. ESPN’s Alden Gonzales reported at the time, “Shohei Ohtani exited today's game with what the team described as left knee inflammation, and though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Pittsburgh he expects him back in the lineup as early as tomorrow, it's worth noting his history with that left knee,"
Now there’s at least a chance Ohtani could get back on the mound as soon as Sunday in Detroit. MLB insider Jon Morosi said Dave Roberts called that a “possibility,” and added that the Dodgers’ pitching plans for the weekend depend on how Ohtani looks during work today, which will be either a bullpen session or facing live hitters in Atlanta.
For a Dodgers team chasing the Brewers and trying to stay in position for one of the two first-round byes, that kind of update is exactly what fans were hoping to hear. Los Angeles already has a deep rotation, but bringing Ohtani back into it would only raise the ceiling even further as the postseason approaches.
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