Roberts says the Dodgers won't rush Ohtani's return to the mound: 'It's about October'

The Los Angeles Dodgers are being deliberately unhurried about getting Shohei Ohtani back on the mound, ESPN reports, and manager Dave Roberts made the reasoning plain: the goal is not July.

The plan, or the lack of a rush

Ohtani has not pitched since July 3, sidelined from the mound by irritation in his left knee. He got a lubricant injection before the All-Star break, threw about 30 pitches off a mound in Philadelphia on Wednesday, and was set for another bullpen session Saturday at Citi Field. But Roberts, asked whether Ohtani might rejoin the rotation next week, shut that down. "That's too early," he said Friday. "I feel very good that it won't be next week."

His framing was the whole philosophy in a sentence: "It's not about July, it's about October. So we're not going to start earlier than we need to."

Why they can afford to wait

The Dodgers can be this patient because the knee affects only half of what makes Ohtani the most valuable player in baseball. The irritation does not touch his hitting, and he has kept hitting, remaining in the lineup and batting in his usual leadoff spot on Friday against the Mets. He is slashing .283 with 22 home runs, 60 RBIs and a .917 OPS, so a team that shelves his arm still keeps his bat, which is not a trade most teams get to make.

And the arm they are protecting has been excellent. Ohtani is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85⅔ innings across 14 starts, and has won his last six decisions. That is an ace-level line, which is precisely why the Dodgers would rather have it fresh in October than stretched thin in July.

The read

This is the enviable problem of a team built to win a title rather than a division race in midsummer. The Dodgers are back-to-back champions with, by their manager's own logic, one eye permanently on the postseason, and a two-way superstar whose knee is a reason to manage the calendar, not to panic. Roberts's message to a fan base that wants Ohtani pitching now is essentially: you'll want him more in October, so wait. The Herald will note when Ohtani's next start actually comes.