Shohei Ohtani takes important step in his push to return to Dodgers' rotation

Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws in the outfield at Dodger Stadium before a game against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 11.  (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani took the bullpen mound at Dodger Stadium, with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and pitching coach Mark Prior looking on, and began his first bullpen throwing session in more than three weeks.

Friday marked an important step in Ohtani’s throwing progression. He threw 34 pitches before the Dodgers’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers, appearing to mix in different pitch types.

Although Ohtani hasn’t landed on the injured list for lingering inflammation and soreness in his left knee, he hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3 .

After Ohtani received a lubricating Orthovisc injection in his knee at the beginning of the All-Star break, the Dodgers hoped he would pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 22. But as they monitored his response, it became clear he wasn’t going to be ready.

Instead, Ohtani threw a 31-pitch bullpen. But his recovery regressed, and he was shut down from throwing.

“At the end of the day, he wants to be healthy,” manager Dave Roberts said earlier this week. “He wants to be there in the postseason. I think that did check him up. If you look at how we kind of paused things — we all want to be smart and careful. I’m happy that we’ve done that with him.”

Ohtani restarted catch play on Aug. 7. And after playing catch three more days this week, Ohtani and the Dodgers determined he was ready to throw off the mound again.

“Rather than rush the progression of this I would rather make sure we’re headed in the right direction,” Ohtani said last week. “Making sure we’re taking the right steps.”

Ohtani is expected to go through a bullpen progression and then advance to throwing live batting practice — although Roberts said earlier this week he didn’t know how many of each he’d need before returning.

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Because the Dodgers want to keep Ohtani in the lineup, he’ll have to build up in games rather than going on a minor-league rehab assignment.

Ohtani did something similar last season, but then, he was returning to the mound for the first time since 2023 elbow surgery.

“Having kind of done that — an inning here, an inning there and then you sort of build up during the season, absolutely,” said Roberts when asked if 2025 could serve as a blueprint. “And I think he’s seen what that buildup can lead to and how it looks. I certainly feel that he’ll buy in.”

Injury updates

Catchers Will Smith (neck) and Dalton Rushing (elbow) each took steps in their hitting progressions. Both took batting practice before the game.

Smith has been out since early June. Rushing landed on the IL on Aug. 3.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .

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