Heading into the start of their road trip, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated Shohei Ohtani would face batters for a second time or throw a bullpen session at Truist Park.
Following the Dodgers’ loss on Tuesday night, Roberts revealed that decision had been boiled down to Ohtani throwing a bullpen on Wednesday or Thursday.
Shohei Ohtani’s return to pitching
But there then was another shift as Ohtani’s bullpen session was pushed back to take place at Comerica Park ahead of the series opener against the Detroit Tigers.
“I do know he’s going to throw a bullpen on Friday in Detroit, and after that then we’ll know how the forthcoming days look,” Roberts said on SportsNet LA.
Ohtani historically has thrown his bullpen sessions two days before making a start. It previously was reported that his return to the rotation could come as soon as Sunday, which Roberts acknowledged without committing to a date.
“Sunday is a day, as is Tuesday,” Roberts noted. “Right now, I don’t think anyone knows how any day looks until he throws that bullpen.”
Running concurrent to Ohtani’s progression is Tyler Glasnow being scheduled to pitch Sunday. He either will start the series finale against the Tigers if Ohtani is not yet ready for his return, or Glasnow will pitch out of the bullpen.
Whenever Ohtani does start for the Dodgers, his first outing is expected to only be one inning. He’s going to follow a similar buildup to last year but Roberts shared the Dodgers will be more aggressive than that slower progression.
Ohtani has not pitched since facing the San Diego Padres on July 3. He threw a season-high 110 pitches, which also was the most in Ohtani’s Dodgers career, over six innings. That was followed by indefinitely getting removed from the rotation due to lingering left knee trouble.
Ohtani was shut down from throwing for multiple weeks, and suffered a minor setback after a bullpen session at Citizens Bank Park on July 22. He then was not seen so much as playing catch on the field until Aug. 8 at Chase Field.
The Dodgers believe their deliberate approach after that hurdle now has the 32-year-old in good standing from a health perspective and back in position to resume his two-way role.
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