A mere three days after Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Shohei Ohtani was removed from the starting rotation indefinitely because of left knee irritation, the two-way superstar threw a bullpen session at Citizens Bank Park.
It was Ohtani’s first time throwing off a mound since having an Orthovisc injection to treat his knee trouble. He didn’t experience any setbacks and is tentatively scheduled for a second bullpen session before the Dodgers face the New York Mets on Saturday.
“If [Saturday] feels good to throw the ‘pen, great. And if it doesn’t then we’ll kick it,” manager Dave Roberts said on SportsNet LA. “I think that’s the beauty of where we’re at right now. We’re not going to push him. There’s constant conversations going on each day, but I think the main thing with Shohei, with his pitching, is just remain nimble.”
Dodgers sticking to cautious plan
Despite some of the progress Ohtani is making since last pitching on July 3, the Dodgers don’t envision him taking the mound in a game until some time in August.
“Probably not,” answered Roberts when asked if Ohtani could make a start next week should his second bullpen session also go well. “That’s too early. I feel very good that it won’t be next week.”
Managing Ohtani’s workload has been a balancing act for the Dodgers, and required some give and take from both sides. The 32-year-old notoriously is opposed to rest, and Roberts is already sensing Ohtani’s anxiousness to resume making pitching starts.
“I still think that he is very honest with us about how he’s feeling, and we’re aligned with that. Every player wants to get back out there and do what they do, but I think he understands it’s not about July,” Roberts said. “It’s about October, so we’ve already taken a lot of time to get him back to full health.
“So we’re not going to start earlier than we need to.”
Given Roberts’ comments and Ohtani’s trajectory, it stands to reason he may not pitch until the second week of August at the earliest. The progression toward rejoining the Dodgers’ rotation may include throwing to batters next week as a final checkpoint of sorts given that Ohtani would not be sent out on any sort of rehab assignment.
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