The Los Angeles Dodgers have decided to halt Shohei Ohtani’s throwing program, according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
Ohtani last threw a bullpen on Feb. 25 and won’t face live hitters until after the team returns from Japan.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team aimed to “slow-play” Ohtani’s pitching program while he ramped up as a hitter and took live at-bats, per Jack Harris of the LA Times.
“We just felt that to intensify the bullpens alongside of the intensity of the games (as DH) wasn’t smart, so we just wanted to kind of slow-play it,” Roberts said to reporters Thursday, via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
The Dodgers were anticipating Ohtani’s return to the mound would be sometime in late April or early May but how will this brief shutdown affect his return?
Roberts doesn’t know yet.
“[We’re] just trying to make it a broad time to return. We just don’t know. So I think that when he’s ready … we’ll know. But I don’t want to put any kind of expectation on you guys, or Shohei.”
It’s uncertain whether Ohtani experienced a setback, but the Dodgers are clearly taking a cautious approach to his return as a two-way player.
For now, he’ll continue as the team’s designated hitter, with the goal of resuming pitching at some point in the first half of the season.
