Shohei Ohtani resumed his throwing progression with a bullpen session on Aug. 14 after being shut down for nearly three weeks due to left knee soreness and discomfort in his right bicep.
Since then, Ohtani’s hitting production has taken a bit of a dip. He’s batting just .197/.290/.426 with one double, two triples, three home runs and six RBI over his last 15 games.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is aware of the possible correlation and won’t push Ohtani to pitch if it means negatively impacting his performance at the plate, via Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
“Obviously, where we’re at right now with the pitching, the starting pitching certainly being a strength, his value offensively is hugely important, and so we can’t compromise that in any fashion,” Roberts said. “So if throwing potentially cuts into that, that’s not worth the squeeze. … Very, very bullish on making sure we don’t compromise the hitting.”
Since his initial bullpen session, Ohtani has thrown live batting practice against Will Smith and followed that with another bullpen before the series opener against the Detroit Tigers. The original plan was for Ohtani to make his return start on Sunday at Comerica Park, but that didn’t happen due to lingering left knee and right bicep issues.
Even amid his recent offensive struggles, Ohtani hasn’t indicated that his injuries are affecting his hitting.
“He hasn’t said anything about the hitting,” Roberts said. “I know that the last couple weeks haven’t been great with the bat, but he hasn’t expressed that. Nor have the trainers.”
If Ohtani later says that the injuries are taking a toll on him, Roberts would consider giving him some time off from his duties as the designated hitter as well.
“I think that if I knew, if I heard at all, that was affecting his swing, his biceps or knee was bothering him, I would absolutely be open to giving him a day off. But I haven’t heard otherwise,” Roberts explained.
Will Shohei Ohtani pitch again in 2026?
Roberts hasn’t given a target date for Ohtani’s next pitching start but isn’t ready to rule out a potential return later in the season.
“I don’t think we’ve made that decision yet,” Roberts said when asked if Ohtani will be shut down again. “For us, take [Sunday] off the table, let’s get back to L.A., let’s kind of figure out where his body is at and then go from there.”
With the Dodgers starting rotation nearly back to full strength, the team will continue exercising caution and only have Ohtani pitch when he’s fully ready.
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