Ohtani went 2-for-5 with two RBIs in a doubleheader opener against the New York Yankees before completing a long day of field work.
“Overall, I think a good day for Shohei,” Roberts said.
The decision aims to prevent recurring health setbacks during the final stretch of the regular season.
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“A lot of it is where we’re at and how we put ourselves in a good spot in the sense of, could he probably do it?
Sure.
But right now the benefits don’t seem to outweigh the cost of this time in the season,” Roberts said.
Team officials expressed confidence that Ohtani will return to the rotation later this year.
“If it’s two weeks or three weeks then that’s kind of why we’re trying to do this, so we don’t have to worry about it throughout the end of the season,” Roberts added.
Meanwhile, left-hander Blake Snell continues his rehabilitation, throwing 32 pitches for Triple-A Oklahoma City as he recovers from an elbow injury.
“I think that once we moved Emmet, the rotation can keep going forward without Shohei for the time being.
I can’t speak for how long that’s going to be,” Roberts said.
The organization chose to delay Ohtani's mound return after evaluating his physical response following the midseason break.
“He was on the schedule when we broke for the All-Star break and then it was more of the training staff talking to him about, ‘Hey, coming out of the break, how does Wednesday look?
How do you feel? If you don’t feel 100%, we have the opportunity to kick the can,’” Roberts said.
The Dodgers retain full organizational authority over Ohtani's pitching timetable.
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“I think it’s more driven by the organization saying, hey, if you’re not 100% right, we don’t have to do this,” Roberts concluded.
