It's no longer a given that Shohei Ohtani will pitch again in 2026.
The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar has been working purely as a designated hitter since July 3 due to a left knee issue that required a lubricant injection during the All-Star break. It was hoped he could return as a pitcher in an abbreviated fashion on Sunday, but a bullpen session days earlier didn't go well enough to put him on the mound.
On Wednesday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that shutting Ohtani down for the season as a pitcher is "certainly an option."
When asked if there was a deadline to make such a decision, Roberts indicated the team was in no rush:
"There's no hard timeline because any inning that he gives us is additive, given his roster availability. To say that you could give us one inning or two innings is not valuable, that's not true. The cost is does it affect his health? There's really no timeline, definitive deadline to say, 'Hey, this is when we're going to stop.'"
#roberts #shohei
The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar has been working purely as a designated hitter since July 3 due to a left knee issue that required a lubricant injection during the All-Star break. It was hoped he could return as a pitcher in an abbreviated fashion on Sunday, but a bullpen session days earlier didn't go well enough to put him on the mound.
On Wednesday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that shutting Ohtani down for the season as a pitcher is "certainly an option."
When asked if there was a deadline to make such a decision, Roberts indicated the team was in no rush:
"There's no hard timeline because any inning that he gives us is additive, given his roster availability. To say that you could give us one inning or two innings is not valuable, that's not true. The cost is does it affect his health? There's really no timeline, definitive deadline to say, 'Hey, this is when we're going to stop.'"
#roberts #shohei
13 days ago
