Dodgers uncertain if Ohtani will pitch in playoffs

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.”