07/29/26 08:59:00
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07/29 20:58 CDT Shohei Ohtani expected to pitch again this season, but Dodgers
in no rush
Shohei Ohtani expected to pitch again this season, but Dodgers in no rush
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- The Los Angeles Dodgers expect Shohei Ohtani to pitch
again this season, but they're not rushing the two-way superstar back to the
mound because of concern about him overcompensating while his left knee heals.
Andrew Friedman downplayed Ohtani's right biceps soreness, too.
"If it weren't for the knee, he would be pitching right now," Friedman said
Wednesday. "We didn't want to put him in a position where he was altering his
mechanics to try to protect the knee in any way."
The team's president of baseball operations said Ohtani is keeping his right
arm active with plyometric throws using a medicine ball that takes the strain
off constantly landing on his left leg.
"It keeps getting better," Friedman said. "Does he feel 100% in his arm? No,
but neither does any pitcher in late July."
The team wants Ohtani's knee to feel as good as possible before he begins a
throwing program on flat ground or off a mound.
"I feel confident that relatively soon he's going to start getting out and
start ramping up for catch-play and bullpens and getting him back," Friedman
said.
That belief is based on the progress Ohtani says he's felt so far and an MRI
done on his knee during the All-Star break that came back clear. That's also
when he had a lubricant injection in his knee.
In the meantime, Ohtani will continue serving as the designated hitter. He has
said his knee doesn't bother him when he's hitting.
"If there was something structural, then we would be much more concerned,"
Friedman said. "The fact that there's not and the fact that it does keep
improving suggests that we're on the right path."
Friedman said Ohtani's current unavailability on the mound hasn't created an
acute need to add pitching with the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaching. The
Dodgers have been mentioned as a possible destination for two-time Cy Young
Award winner Tarik Skubal of Detroit.
"We're always open-minded to different things," Friedman said, "but the biggest
thing for us is to do everything we can in the offseason to not put ourselves
in a position in July where you absolutely have to do something because it is
far and away the worst time to acquire a player."
Ohtani is 8-2 on the mound with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts over 85 2/3
innings.
The four-time MVP hasn't pitched since July 3. His form didn't look the same in
his handful of starts before the All-Star break due to the sore knee that first
flared up on June 11 and led to him overcompensating with his upper body,
creating tightness in his right biceps.
"The stuff was still in a really good place, execution was a little bit off
from what we've typically seen from him," Friedman said. "I'll bet on him to
execute."
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