Shohei Ohtani feels good, but the Dodgers still won’t commit to his next start

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers remain uncertain whether designated hitter Shohei Ohtani will pitch again this season.

The two-way superstar hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3 because of lingering pain in his left knee and right biceps. Ohtani threw a 20-pitch bullpen session last Friday but was scratched from a potential start at Detroit two days later.

“I think physically he’s in a good spot,” manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “I haven’t heard otherwise as far as him ailing, whether it’s the arm, the knee. Everything that he’s told me and the training staff, he feels good.”

Roberts said that until he sees Ohtani throw another bullpen he won’t know the next step in his pitching progression.

Asked if it’s possible Ohtani won’t pitch again this season, Roberts said, “It’s an option.”

Before being shut down, Ohtani was 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts.

If Ohtani can’t start on the mound, would he be a candidate to play at an outfield corner?

“Not on the table right now,” Roberts said.

Ohtani hasn’t played the outfield in the major leagues since 2021, when he appeared there in seven games for the Los Angeles Angels.

If Ohtani isn’t physically capable of starting a game, it’s possible he could enter as a reliever.

If he starts as the designated hitter and then moves to the mound, the so-called Ohtani Rule would kick in and the Dodgers would lose their DH for the rest of the game. But if he moves from the mound to the outfield, he could remain in the lineup.

“I certainly know the value of him pitching, but if you’re not 100%, there’s possibly some bleed-in to the performance offensively,” Roberts said. “Any inning that he gives us is added value. The cost is, does it affect his health? So there’s really no timeline, definitive deadline to say, ‘Hey, this is where we’re going to stop.’”

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