LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani, the pitcher, is inching closer to a return for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani, who has not pitched in a major-league game since July 3 while managing left knee soreness and a couple of flare-ups of right biceps discomfort, threw his first bullpen session in 23 days on Friday under the watchful eye of front-office personnel.
The Dodgers have not put firm parameters on Ohtani’s return timeline, which is complicated somewhat as he continues to serve as the team’s designated hitter. But the belief remains that Ohtani could return and pitch in a big-league game before the end of the regular season.
“Yeah, I think so,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told The Athletic following Ohtani’s bullpen session. “I mean, a lot of it, we just need to take our time and see if he comes in feeling good tomorrow, and then OK, what’s the next step?
“A lot of it is just how he’s bouncing back, and do we think it’s prudent to keep progressing?”
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Ohtani has already tried ramping up and suffered a setback. First, he tried pitching through the discomfort and underwent a “lubricant” injection in his left knee to address the discomfort during the All-Star break. He threw a bullpen session a week later on July 22 in Philadelphia, but felt some regression in his knee along with biceps discomfort, which prompted the club to dial things back with him. It was his last time seen throwing on the field until Saturday, when Ohtani threw in the outfield at Chase Field before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ohtani has since played catch on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon. When Ohtani’s throwing ramped up Friday, he walked into the bullpen and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman followed.
The two-way star threw 34 pitches, appearing to mix in his off-speed pitches during the session.
“Obviously continuing to build up volume and intensity, and all of these things are positive,” Gomes said.
Gomes said Ohtani’s knee is “feeling good,” though Ohtani’s previous comments suggested he might not be 100 percent with his knee until this offseason. This has added a wrinkle to Ohtani’s recovery — they must get the knee to the point where it is manageable, even with the toll of Ohtani returning to two-way play.
“Rather than rush the progression of this, I would rather make sure we’re headed in the right direction,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Aug. 5, his last time speaking to reporters. “But making sure we’re taking the right steps.”
Once Ohtani has progressed to the point of facing hitters, the Dodgers would most likely ramp him up by having him pitch in big-league games, much like he did last summer in returning from a second major elbow surgery. Since Ohtani does not count against the Dodgers’ pitcher limit, they could effectively have him serve as an opener as he builds up, going from one inning to two innings and so on with each appearance. His return date will likely determine just how built up Ohtani could be in October.
“I certainly see him as a starter, but how much he could give us, to then have somebody behind him, that we don’t know yet,” manager Dave Roberts said last week. “That’s kind of where we’re at right now.”
For now, Ohtani throwing a bullpen session signifies progress.
“Continuing to put ourselves in a position, and him in a position, to be able to come back and help us on the mound in any way is obviously beneficial, but also can’t have it affect anything else,” Gomes said.
The Dodgers are also getting more reinforcements. Will Smith took batting practice on the field for the first time since June 5, when he went on the injured list for an inflamed disc in his neck. Smith, who has not spoken to reporters since June, has started ramping up baseball activities of late and is completely pain-free, Roberts and Gomes said.
“It’s kind of what we expected all along,” Gomes said, adding that Smith’s timeline for a live batting practice and eventually a rehab assignment is “sooner rather than later.”
The expectation remains that Dalton Rushing will also not need surgery to repair his damaged ulnar collateral ligament, Gomes said, echoing what Rushing told The Athletic this week. Rushing took batting practice on the field on Friday, another first since being scratched from the Dodgers’ lineup on Aug. 2. Then Rushing strapped on his gear and caught a bullpen session. He remains restricted from throwing, including in bullpen sessions, but Friday represented a good day in Rushing’s rehab. The Dodgers are more optimistic about Rushing’s chances of returning as a left-handed hitter off the bench rather than as a catcher, but they aren’t ruling anything out.
