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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff WriterSep 13, 2024, 07:25 PM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
ATLANTA — The thought of Shohei Ohtani pitching in the playoffs is suddenly not impossible, even if it might still be unlikely.
Speaking Friday, a little over an hour after frontline starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow suffered another setback in his recovery from elbow tendinitis, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts left open the possibility of Ohtani being an option on the mound in October, saying it’s “not a 0 percent chance.”
Ohtani, who underwent a second repair of his right ulnar collateral ligament 12 months ago, has been throwing semiregular bullpen sessions and could progress to facing hitters before the end of September. The likelier plan had been for Ohtani to shut down his throwing program in October, then restart it relatively early in the offseason to prepare for his return as a two-way player in 2025.
Under another potential scenario, though, Ohtani would keep throwing, then could be an option for the Dodgers in the later postseason rounds if they get there.
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“Anything’s possible,” said Roberts, who had joined Dodgers front office members in squashing the idea when it came up in previous instances this season. “This is something that is a long-term play. We still have a lot of work to do to get to October and through October. I hope that’s on his mind, as far as motivation for his rehab. The odds of it coming to pass are very slim, but they’re not zero.”
The consideration — and the pivot in their thinking, however slight — speaks to the uncertainty of the Dodgers’ rotation. Yoshinobu Yamamoto recently pitched in a major league game for the first time in about three months, striking out eight Chicago Cubs batters in four innings. Though the outing was encouraging, the Dodgers still have plenty of questions outside of Jack Flaherty.
The biggest uncertainty, once again, surrounds Glasnow, who has been out since Aug. 11 and seemed to be progressing toward a return. Glasnow was throwing in the Truist Park bullpen to prepare for a two- to three-inning simulated game in what was expected to be his last step before returning to the rotation.
It started off well, Roberts said, and then, as Glasnow approached his 25th throw, he felt discomfort around his right elbow once again, prompting him to shut down the session.
The Dodgers are uncertain about the next step, but Roberts readily acknowledged that time is quickly running out before the postseason.
“Obviously, it’s a setback,” Roberts said. “I don’t know what that means in terms of the coming days. I do know that we’re just going to kind of reassess and see how he feels over the next couple days and see when we can pick up the throwing again.”
Joining Glasnow on the IL are Clayton Kershaw and Gavin Stone, both of whom are pushing to come back but also running short on time. Kershaw has been diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his left big toe, triggering pain every time he pushes off the rubber, and hasn’t thrown off a traditional mound. Stone, who had been arguably the Dodgers’ best starter this year, was shut down with shoulder inflammation Sept. 6 and is merely playing catch now.
That brings the Dodgers to Ohtani, who famously came out of the bullpen during last year’s World Baseball Classic to close out the championship-clinching game for Team Japan with a strikeout of then-teammate Mike Trout. Roberts said he hasn’t spoken to Ohtani about the possibility of pitching in the playoffs but might soon.
If Ohtani is open to the idea, it could be difficult for the Dodgers to resist the urge to use him.
“We all have to feel very confident that the buildup, that the stress of pitches, that he’ll be able to handle the cost-benefit of him potentially doing something like that,” Roberts said. “We’d all have to be in lockstep, and it’s got to make complete sense. Right now, for me, it’s just keeping his head focused on hitting, going through his rehab process. If that situation presents itself down the road — and, again, this is a long way down the road — then we can have that conversation.”
