LOS ANGELES -- Since Thursday, the Dodgers have penciled in their starting lineups without Shohei Ohtani in his usual spot at the top. Sunday marked the fourth straight game with Ohtani absent from the starting nine while managing health concerns, but his return is in sight.
Ohtani is expected to be back in the Dodgers' starting lineup on Monday, manager Dave Roberts said before Sunday's 7-5 win over the Nationals at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani came away well after hitting in the cage on Saturday, and he was available to pinch-hit on Sunday, clearing the way for his return on Monday.
"My expectation is he'll be in the lineup tomorrow," Roberts said.
While Ohtani's return as a hitter is nearing, his time off all but ensured that he will not return to pitching this season. He has not thrown since Aug. 28 in Detroit, when he experienced a setback in what was viewed at the time as his final box to check before his next start on the mound.
"Not officially," Roberts said of Ohtani being shut down as a pitcher. "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."
Dating back to June, Ohtani has dealt with multiple lingering physical issues, including left knee soreness that has been the primary reason that he has not pitched since July 3. A right biceps issue first affected him as a hitter, then went on to affect his pitching ramp-up. He showed visible discomfort in the last game he started on Wednesday, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, with Roberts later revealing that Ohtani's neck was bothering him.
Ohtani has not spoken to the media since Aug. 17 in Colorado, declining multiple requests for comment in that span.
The deterioration of Ohtani's health and performance seemed to coincide with his buildup on the mound. Since he restarted a throwing program on Aug. 8, he is hitting .204 (19-for-93) with a .704 OPS. He has struck out 32 times in that span. Overall this season, Ohtani has a .906 OPS with 30 homers and a 1.79 ERA in 14 pitching starts.
Placing Ohtani on the injured list was a consideration, but the minimum-length IL stint for two-way players is 15 days -- like with pitchers -- and the Dodgers were not inclined to lose him for that long.
The Dodgers have been mindful of managing these days off to where they feel Ohtani won't regress when his return to the lineup comes. Going forward, they will continue to monitor his condition with an eye on having him at his best in the postseason.
"I do think that the no throwing, I think, is beneficial," Roberts said. "I think that the four days has been beneficial. 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."