Dodgers Have No Timetable for Shohei Ohtani to Resume Throwing

Shohei Ohtani is back in the Dodgers lineup.

His return to the mound is a much different story.

Ohtani returned to his customary leadoff spot as Los Angeles' designated hitter Monday against the Cincinnati Reds after missing four consecutive games while dealing with lingering issues involving his right biceps, left knee and neck.

But before the game, manager Dave Roberts made clear that the Dodgers are no longer operating with any sort of pitching timetable.

There isn't even a timetable for Ohtani to begin throwing again.

Roberts said the club has “no timetable for when he's going to pick up a baseball.”

For now, the Dodgers are putting Ohtani's pitching work aside and focusing on something they consider more important heading toward October:

Getting the hitter healthy.

Dodgers Put Ohtani's Throwing Program on Hold

The change represents a significant shift from where the Dodgers were only a couple of weeks ago.

Ohtani had continued building toward another Major League start and threw a successful 35-pitch bullpen session on Aug. 18. At the time, the possibility of facing live hitters and eventually returning to the rotation remained very much alive.

But his progress stalled again.

Ohtani has not pitched in a game since July 3, and he last threw on Aug. 28 in Detroit, when his attempt to advance his pitching progression was interrupted by another physical setback.

Now the Dodgers have effectively removed pitching from his immediate workload.

“We've put a pin in throwing,” Roberts said Monday, explaining that the team wants Ohtani concentrating on hitting, running, maintaining his legs and doing whatever is necessary to help Los Angeles win.

That does not sound like a pitcher preparing for another start anytime soon.

But it also isn't an official shutdown.

Roberts Refuses to Declare Ohtani's Pitching Season Over

This is where the wording around Ohtani's status matters.

With only 19 regular-season games remaining when Roberts spoke Monday, the calendar is clearly working against any realistic pitching comeback.

Ohtani would first have to resume throwing.

Then progress through whatever buildup the Dodgers believe is necessary.

Only after that could another Major League appearance become realistic.

Yet when Roberts was asked directly why the Dodgers had not simply ruled out Ohtani pitching again in 2026, he stopped short.

“I'm choosing not to say it's dead,” Roberts said.

That is the clearest description of the situation.

A return to pitching appears increasingly unlikely.

It is not officially ruled out.

Until the Dodgers or Ohtani say otherwise, describing his pitching season as formally shut down would go beyond what the team has announced.

Ohtani the Hitter Is Now the Priority

The Dodgers have been moving toward this decision for several days.

Ohtani's physical issues had begun affecting more than his ability to pitch.

During the Sept. 2 loss to St. Louis, he struck out four times and visibly showed discomfort with his right arm. Roberts subsequently acknowledged that Ohtani's swing was not looking like its normal version.

Los Angeles responded by giving him four straight games off.

The break was long enough that the Dodgers briefly considered placing Ohtani on the injured list, but his improvement allowed them to avoid that move. Because of his two-way designation, an IL placement would have required a 15-day stint rather than the 10-day minimum used for position players.

The Dodgers instead allowed him to rest through the Washington series before returning Monday.

Now Roberts wants to see how Ohtani responds to playing again before deciding how often he should be in the lineup.

“I am very curious to see how he comes out of tonight,” Roberts said Monday, indicating that the club will use his recovery to help determine his availability in the following days.

So even Ohtani's return as an everyday hitter may be managed carefully at first.

Recent Offensive Slump Added to the Concern

There is another reason the Dodgers want Ohtani focused solely on offense.

He wasn't looking like himself at the plate before the break.

In his final six games before sitting out, Ohtani went 2-for-23 with 11 strikeouts. He entered Monday batting .279 with 30 home runs and 80 RBIs in 133 games, with his most recent homer coming Aug. 18.

Roberts told the Los Angeles Times that part of the thinking behind removing pitching from Ohtani's workload is to allow him to lock back in as a hitter after a couple of difficult weeks at the plate.

That trade-off is becoming easier to justify because of what the Dodgers already have in their rotation.

Los Angeles does not need to force Ohtani back onto the mound simply to field a credible postseason pitching staff.

His 2026 pitching performance was excellent before the injury problems interrupted it — Ohtani went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts — but the Dodgers have other frontline options capable of carrying a postseason rotation.

If attempting to pitch is making it harder for Ohtani to remain healthy and productive offensively, the calculation changes considerably.

The Calendar Is Becoming the Biggest Obstacle

The Dodgers haven't closed the door because there is little reason to do so prematurely.

If Ohtani suddenly feels dramatically better and begins throwing again, Los Angeles can reassess.

But every day without throwing makes a pitching return more difficult.

That is especially true for a starter who has not appeared on a Major League mound since July 3.

There is a significant difference between being healthy enough to pick up a baseball and being built up enough to face Major League hitters in a postseason environment.

At this point, the Dodgers are not even at the first step.

That is why the most accurate description is not that Ohtani has been shut down.

It is that his pitching program has been paused indefinitely while the Dodgers prioritize everything else.

Los Angeles Doesn't Need to Force the Issue

Getting Ohtani back into Monday's lineup was the first objective.

Keeping him there — and getting his swing closer to normal — is now more important than chasing a pitching return simply because the possibility exists.

The postseason stakes make that even clearer.

A healthy Ohtani capable of impacting games from the top of the lineup is essential to the Dodgers' championship hopes.

Ohtani pitching would be an extraordinary additional weapon.

But if the two responsibilities are beginning to work against each other physically, the Dodgers have made their current preference obvious.

Hitting first.

Running and maintaining his lower body.

Overall health.

Pitching can wait.

Maybe until later this month.

Maybe until October.

And increasingly, perhaps until 2027.

But Roberts isn't ready to make that final declaration.

For now, the Dodgers have no timetable for Shohei Ohtani to throw again — and that is as far as the organization is willing to go.