Dodgers adjust Ohtani pitching plans as season winds down

DETROIT -- The Dodgers are still expecting to get Shohei Ohtani back as a pitcher this season, but manager Dave Roberts acknowledged that the two-way superstar is "not 100%," which could impact his progression on the mound moving forward.

Ohtani reported that he didn't feel his best physically after throwing about 20 pitches in the bullpen on Friday, a lighter workload than his typical pre-start sessions. Ohtani's lingering left knee soreness has been the primary issue that has kept him from pitching since July 3, but Roberts said that his right biceps and the condition of his "overall body" are considerations as well.

"To be quite frank, I just don't see everything getting to 100% by the end of the season," Roberts said. "But there's a lot of pitchers that are not 100% and still viable. So again, it's just not an exact science."

The possibility of Ohtani opening Sunday's series finale on the mound remains an option, albeit a less likely one. It is also potentially an option for him to pitch on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, although if he doesn't feel good enough to pitch on Sunday, then he might not feel good enough on Tuesday. The situation remains fluid, but as things stand, Ohtani could still feasibly be back on the mound at some point during the next homestand.

"That's the hard part right now," Roberts said, "is trying to figure out if he's not 100%, overall body, is it worth giving him an inning to build up or not? So I think that that's kind of where we're at right now, trying to weigh the positives and negatives."

Tyler Glasnow will pitch in some capacity on Sunday, regardless of the plan with Ohtani. The Dodgers expect to notify both Glasnow and the Tigers of their starter for Sunday after Saturday afternoon's game.

Ohtani went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts before his pitching was put on hold, primarily due to his left knee. The Dodgers were hopeful that he was past his knee issue once he resumed throwing on Aug. 8, but intensifying his progression in the weeks that followed put an additional strain on Ohtani's body.

Since he resumed throwing, Ohtani's offensive production has dropped off as well. Ohtani entered Saturday having gone 17-for-78 (.218) with 25 strikeouts and eight walks in his last 19 games. While the slump coincides with the beginning of his throwing program, Roberts does not believe there is direct causation.

“It just hasn’t been a whole body of work on the throwing side,” Roberts said. "Honestly, I just think that for me, I think the pitch selection hasn't been good."

Therein lies the biggest dilemma for the Dodgers. Ohtani provides immense value as a two-way player. When he's healthy, he is capable of being one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. But L.A. already has a loaded rotation led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Glasnow. Because of that, Ohtani's offensive value is arguably more important for the team at this point.

"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."

As things stand, the Dodgers have limited time to build up Ohtani as a pitcher. The team had previously been optimistic that he could build up to five innings by season's end, but Roberts acknowledged that that seems less likely now. L.A. would like Ohtani to be at his best on both sides of the ball in the postseason, but as a pitcher, he might be limited somewhat by both his health and the constraints of the schedule.

"We're still thinking about potentially the buildup and what that would mean, which is fair," Roberts said. "But at the end of the day, it's what's best for Shohei, what's best for us, what makes the most sense."