Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is set to return to the mound if things proceed well, and there is now a target date.
According to manager Dave Roberts, Ohtani could be in line for a start on Sunday when the Dodgers close out their series on the road against the Detroit Tigers.
He has been making steady progress on his way back to the mound, graduating from throwing plyo balls to long toss, to bullpen sessions, and now he stepped into live batting practice to compete against hitters.
Ohtani set for a second live batting practice session or a bullpen session in what could be his final step before returning to the mound.
If Ohtani feels good after Wednesday’s session, he may end up throwing again or possibly jumping right into the action on Sunday.
When he comes back, Ohtani will either pitch one or two innings, just like he did last year when coming back from a torn UCL.
A lot can still change between now and Sunday, especially since he likely won’t miss a beat as a hitter, meaning any base-running could aggravate it.
However, he has been playing every day, and things haven’t really changed; in fact, he has continued to progress, with no setbacks for weeks.
How healthy is Shohei Ohtani right now?
There is a bit of a gap between how healthy Ohtani is overall and how much of it is being hidden because the postseason is coming up relatively soon and his window to properly ramp up is closing by the day.
Ohtani may play through some discomfort to pitch as much as possible in the short term.
The Dodgers have a tough balance to maintain: making sure Ohtani can contribute to their three-peat while protecting him long-term.
Dave Roberts always tends to say that if it were up to Ohtani, he would play in every game and pitch like a regular starter, and given his production this year and what is on the line, they may end up letting him do just that.
One Response
Ohtani should stick to pitching because he sure doesn’t hit when it counts. He’s a number five hitter anyway maybe fourth on this team. Betts is a seven hitter at best. Muncy then fifth. I guess Freeman will have to hit third but he can’t run and loves hitting into DPs. Hasn’t hit a HR forever because his hand is probably still weak. Pages and Smith will be a flip of the coin when they return. Not much power on this team even with all these small ballparks. A hope and a prayer that the pitching steps up.
Gman