Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup on Monday after missing four games due to injury issues with his left knee and right biceps.
But even with the two-way superstar healthy enough to get back in the lineup, manager Dave Roberts said the Dodgers will not resume his throwing program.
Now, with Ohtani getting back in the lineup but his throwing program still not resuming, the chances of pitching again are nearly zero.
“Not officially,” Roberts said when asked if Ohtani was being shut down from pitching this year. “But obviously, if you’re looking at the calendar, how much he’s thrown in the last week, I think we can all do the math.”
Roberts said the Dodgers are also “unlikely” to get Ohtani ready to make one or two-inning starts as an opener.
There are just about three weeks left in the regular season, which would force Ohtani to quickly build up his arm and rehab before pitching. That would add even more stress to his body, and he’s already dealt with numerous injuries throughout the year.
Instead, the Dodgers will have Ohtani focus on hitting. Keeping him in the lineup is by far the most important thing, given the state of their roster.
Without worrying about building up his arm, Ohtani should be able to spend more time focusing on his hitting.
Ohtani has not pitched in a game since July 3, but did resume his throwing program last month. That was shut down after Ohtani continued to experience discomfort and pain in his knee.
When Ohtani was first taken out of the lineup on Thursday to give his injuries time to recover, Roberts said Ohtani could be shut down from pitching this season, but they remained hopeful to get him back,
Dodgers hope Shohei Ohtani benefits from not pitching
With Ohtani not throwing again, the club feels it will help keep him healthy as their designated hitter.
“Yeah, I do think that the no throwing is beneficial,” Roberts said. “I think that the four days has been beneficial.
“And then at that point in time, we’ll just kind of monitor day to day and make sure we don’t get to that point where it was at four or five days ago.”
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