With five weeks to go in the regular season, the Dodgers know they’ll eventually get Shohei Ohtani and Edwin Díaz back as healthy members of their stretch-run pitching staff.
But with the playoffs nearing and the team’s roster still molding into shape, the exact role each right-hander will fill remains unclear –– leaving both with something to prove as they progress through their recoveries over the next several weeks.
Saturday was a big day for both Ohtani, who has been sidelined as a pitcher since early July because of a lingering knee injury, and Díaz, who last week went on the injured list for the second time this season because of what the team described as neck inflammation.
Before the Dodgers’ game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Díaz threw his first bullpen session since his neck issue popped up on Monday. Ohtani, meanwhile, threw a simulated 30-pitch session of live batting practice against Will Smith, marking the first time he has faced hitters since his most recent pitching start back on July 3.
Shohei Ohtani, Edwin Diaz check off important boxes
Those were important boxes for both pitchers to check off. They also provided further clarity on when they might be ready to return. Manager Dave Roberts said Díaz could be activated as soon as he’s eligible at the beginning of Septmeber. Ohtani, meanwhile, will likely throw one more live BP before rejoining the Dodgers’ rotation, at which point he will get stretched back out inning-by-inning over each outing he makes the rest of the year.
“Everything from the coaches was really positive,” Roberts relayed when asked about Ohtani’s live BP session. “We’re getting there. Today was a good day.”
What is not known for now, however, is how Ohtani and Díaz will be used once the two-time defending champions begins finalizing their roster for another postseason push.
On Saturday, Roberts left the door open to numerous possibilities, stopping well short of guaranteeing Díaz would return to the closer’s role or that Ohtani would make traditional, full-length starts in the playoffs.
“We still got a ways to get there,” Roberts said.
Díaz’s situation is the simpler one.
After signing a $69 million contract this offseason, the three-time Reliever of the Year Award winner has been completely ineffective in his debut season with the club, suffering an 11.85 ERA in just 16 outings.
Injuries, of course, have been a significant impediment. The 32-year-old had already missed three months following a procedure to remove loose bodied from his elbow in April. Now, he is facing at least several more weeks out because of discomfort he felt in his neck recently.
However, this IL stint is serving a dual purpose for the right-hander, as Roberts acknowledged Saturday, giving Díaz a chance to also work through mechanical flaws the team had identified before his neck flared up on him.
“The sensation and feeling that he had in his neck is real,” Roberts said. “But I also do think that going through some things with the pitching guys and the body mechanics guys, and getting to let that have a chance to kind of take, I think is important.”
Last time Díaz returned from the IL, he was slotted straight back into his customary ninth-inning role.
But after converting just 7 of 11 save opportunities this year, Díaz will now have to re-establish himself as a trustworthy, high-leverage option ahead of October.
According to Roberts, the team’s plan revolves around “putting him in some softer landing situations to get the confidence, to get the feel and the trust of executing pitches, getting major league hitters out, and then at that point in time we’ll go from there.”
Shohei Ohtani’s playoff usage more complex
Deciding on Ohtani’s usage will be a more complex process for the Dodgers, thanks to both the taxing nature of the two-way star’s overall workload, and the fact that –– barring any unforeseen setbacks –– the team will have four other All-Star starting pitching options to turn to in the playoffs.
For now, Roberts said the team’s “goal” is to get Ohtani stretched back out for full-length starts –– like he was at the start of the season, when he went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 outings.
“But,” the skipper added, “the most important is how he’s feeling and how we get there.”
“I could sit here and say, ‘Yeah, [we want him pitching] six innings when we start the postseason,’” Roberts continued. “But he’s still got to do the work and get there. He’s got to pass some tests and markers.”
The other option would be to manage Ohtani’s pitching workload more conservatively in October –– which could be beneficial for his bat –– and perhaps use him as more of a glorified opener (capable of pitching a handful of innings at the beginning of games) when the need arises.
Ohtani himself seemed to acknowledge such uncertainties last week, saying in Japanese that “we have a lot of starters, and I think it’s a situation where you don’t know who will start [in the playoffs].”
Much could depend on how he pitches once he makes his return to the Dodgers’ rotation, as it would likely take at least a month for him to get fully built back up.
For now, these are good problems for the Dodgers to have.
It means Ohtani and Diaz are on track to return. That the team is confident in what they could produce despite their recent injury problems. And that they have enough other options right now to not need to overly rely on either.
Still, they are also questions that will nonetheless need to be answered, giving Ohtani and Díaz more work to do as they near their returns to the pitching staff.
