Shohei Ohtani (knee) could pitch versus Tigers

Ohtani continues due deal with soreness in his biceps and his knee, and while it’s not enough to shut him down for the season, it sounds like the Dodgers are going to more careful with him and give him plenty of rest days down the stretch to ensure that he’s ready to go for the postseason. Alex Call will function as the Dodgers’ designated hitter on Thursday and will bat eighth against Quinn Mathews and the Cardinals.

It does appear that Ohtani’s performance last night, exacerbated by him not hiding his physical discomfort late in the game, has made the Dodgers more open to the idea. Roberts said he plans to talk to Ohtani and the Dodgers’ training staff to gauge what is best for Ohtani going forward. At the very least, we could see more days off for the 32-year-old superstar in September. “I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup,” Roberts said. “(That) if he’s upright, he should play. I respect that. But if he’s feeling the way that visibly looks, then really not helping anyone.”

It’s Ohtani’s seventh career four-strikeout game. It’s nice that he stole another base tonight, but while it seems like that should be a good sign for his knee, he’s just not swinging the bat very well right now. In his last 12 games, he has four steals yet no RBI while going 6-for-42.

Roberts told reporters the possibility of shutting Ohtani down as a pitcher is on the table, but they haven’t reached the point where they have to make that decision. Here’s an oversimplification: Ohtani is so critical to Los Angeles’ lineup heading into the postseason that they can’t jeopardize his availability by pitching. The 32-year-old two-way sensation has been dealing with lingering knee and biceps issues that have kept him from pitching for the Dodgers since July 3.

Ohtani was set to make a one-inning start on Sunday against the Tigers, but he didn’t feel 100 percent after a bullpen session, so that plan was scrapped. Roberts said that the plan for now is that Ohtani won’t throw for at least a week and the team will determine next steps from there. That timeline obviously means that Ohtani’s chance of getting built up to make normal-length starts in the playoffs is highly unlikely. The Dodgers now have to have a discussion about whether or not him pitching at all is worth any injury risk to his knee or biceps. As Roberts said, “His value offensively is hugely important, so if throwing potentially cuts into that, that’s not worth the squeeze.”

Roberts said before the game that Ohtani still isn’t feeling 100 percent physically due to ongoing knee and biceps issues, and that if any other player was dealing with those same ailments the club wouldn’t let them pitch either. What has yet to be determined is whether or not the Dodgers will shut Ohtani down from pitching for the remainder of the season. They’re going to see how he feels when they return to Los Angeles next week before making that determination.

It sounds highly unlikely that Ohtani will make his return to Los Angeles’ rotation this weekend based on Roberts adding that the two-way superstar isn’t feeling 100 percent physically due to ongoing left knee and right biceps issues. The club is expected to make a final decision following Saturday afternoon’s contest in Detroit. Regardless, it’ll be Tyler Glasnow doing the heavy lifting on Sunday. The general expectation remains that Ohtani will return to the Dodgers’ rotation in the near future, but it doesn’t sound imminent after Friday’s abbreviated bullpen session didn’t go exactly as anticipated. Simply put, the franchise can’t really afford to take any chances with the postseason right around the corner. There should be additional clarity on his status in the coming days.

At this point, it’s nearly impossible to predict what comes next for the two-way superstar. Ohtani could potentially take the ball as an opener for Sunday’s series finale against the Tigers, with Tyler Glasnow following in a bulk-relief role, or the Dodgers could push him back to Tuesday’s series opener against the Cardinals. His return to Los Angeles’ rotation feels imminent, even if the exact timing remains murky. There should be some much-needed clarity by the end of the weekend.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Ohtani is trending towards starting against the Tigers on Sunday. There should be a definitive update on his status leading into the weekend but all signs point to the generational talent making his first start for Los Angeles since early July. It sounds like there’s a possibility that Ohtani piggybacks with Tyler Glasnow in some capacity for workload reasons this weekend.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility that Ohtani could take the ball against Detroit this weekend but he’ll need to make it through another throwing session this week before that decision is made. The 32-year-old two-way superstar hasn’t pitched in a game setting since early July due to a knee issue.