Shohei Ohtani throws Dodgers bullpen session in ‘big sign’ for knee injury recovery

PHILADELPHIA –– It remains unclear exactly when Shohei Ohtani will get back in the Dodgers pitching rotation.

But on Wednesday, at least, the two-way star took an encouraging step by getting back off the mound in a pregame bullpen session.

Before the Dodgers’ series-finale against the Phillies –– a game that Ohtani was originally expected to start before a lingering left knee injury prompted the team to give him a break from pitching –– Ohtani played long toss in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park, then proceeded to the bullpen for a 31-pitch session in which he used his full pitch mix.

It was the first time Ohtani had thrown off a mound in exactly two weeks, and his first bullpen session since receiving a lubricant injection in his knee during the All-Star break.

“It’s a big sign,” manager Dave Roberts said.

“It went great,” pitching coach Mark Prior added.

Prior and assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness (who observed Ohtani’s bullpen alongside interpreter Will Ireton) both described Wednesday as a normal bullpen session, similar to what Ohtani would do between starts while he was making regular turns through the rotation.

Prior also said Wednesday’s session had been pre-planned, and that the team will see how Ohtani feels in the coming days before deciding what will be next for him pitching-wise.

“Once he started playing catch, [the plan] was to see how he felt over the three or four day,” Prior said. “If everything felt good, he was going to throw a bullpen today.”

Ohtani last made a pitching start on July 3, before having his final scheduled outing of the first half scratched because of lingering discomfort in his knee.

He has been battling inflammation and irritation in his knee –– the same one he had surgery on in 2019 to address a congenital condition –– since mid-June, when his knee first flared up on him the day after a pitching start in Pittsburgh.

The right-hander said he believed the problem arose because of flaws in his mechanics that put too much pressure on his front landing leg. Roberts has also described the problem as “wear and tear” from his return to a full-time two-way role this season.

Following Wednesday’s bullpen, Roberts still wasn’t sure when Ohtani would return to the Dodgers’ rotation, saying only that it wouldn’t happen during this road trip (which will conclude with a series against the Mets this weekend).

“After I talk to Mark and they get with the training staff, that information is going to be crucial,” Roberts noted.

But Ohtani’s progress to this point suggests his absence from the rotation might only last a few weeks, as opposed to a longer-term break that would force him to completely rebuild his stamina on the mound.

“I still think it hasn’t been so long that the equity that he’s built up with the pitch count is that compromised,” Roberts said. “But with that, I can’t foresee him running out there and throwing 100 pitches his first outing.”

Ohtani hadn’t been as sharp in the four starts he made while pitching through his knee injury, posting a 4.38 ERA in those outings compared to his sterling 0.74 ERA beforehand this season.

How much of that was because of his knee, or other flaws in his delivery, is a question the Dodgers are trying to work through as Ohtani ramps back up to full availability as a pitcher.

“I think his delivery got off a little bit, which kind of affected some things,” Prior said. “But at the end of the day, when he gets his delivery right, his execution of his pitches, he’s at a much higher efficiency. I think that’s the goal.”

For now, the Dodgers are simply happy that Ohtani seems to be trending back in the right direction, with the four-time MVP having reported to the training staff that his knee “feels good” in the wake of his All-Star break treatment, according to Roberts.

“We all believe that you don’t know more than the player,” Roberts said. “He knows his body so well. So if he feels he’s ready to get off a mound, then we support it. I think for us it’s more not trying to force him or push him.”

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters