Additional Coverage:
- Shohei Ohtani skips bullpen session and won’t throw off mound until irritated left knee feels 100% (nbcsports.com)
LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani’s return to pitching remains on hold as the Los Angeles Dodgers exercise caution with the two-way star’s irritated left knee. Ohtani skipped a bullpen session Saturday, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirming that the team will wait until Ohtani feels fully confident and his knee is completely healed before he takes the mound again.
“We’re just going to kick the can,” Roberts said prior to the Dodgers’ game against the New York Mets. “We’re not going to move forward until he feels 100% confident and we feel 100% confident that we should do it.”
Ohtani has not pitched in a game since July 3 but has continued to contribute offensively, appearing regularly in the lineup as a batter without knee issues. The Dodgers currently hold the best record in Major League Baseball at 66-38, leading the NL West by 11 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After receiving a lubricant injection before the All-Star break, Ohtani threw approximately 30 pitches off the mound during a bullpen session on Wednesday in Philadelphia. However, Roberts noted there was a slight setback in his progress.
“It was obviously not ideal, him throwing his last bullpen and going backwards essentially,” Roberts said. “That was disappointing, but as far as worry or concern, we don’t have any of that.”
Ohtani’s impressive season includes an 8-2 record, a 1.79 ERA, and 95 strikeouts across 85 2/3 innings in 14 starts. At the plate, he’s batting .286 with 22 home runs, 61 RBIs, and a .920 OPS.
In other injury news, two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell made his second rehab start Friday with Triple-A Oklahoma City. Snell, sidelined since May due to loose bodies in his pitching elbow, threw 49 pitches over 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits. Roberts expects Snell to extend his outing to four innings in his next rehab start.
Closer Edwin Díaz, recovering from right elbow surgery, is scheduled for another rehab appearance Sunday in Oklahoma City. If all goes well, he could be activated from the injured list by Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Tyler Glasnow, on the 60-day injured list with low back spasms since early May, threw 25 pitches during a simulated inning on Friday. He is expected to throw another simulated game next week once the Dodgers return home and may begin a rehab assignment following that.