LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� The Los Angeles Dodgers expect to pitch again this season, but they’re not rushing the two-way superstar back to the mound because of concern about him overcompensating while his left knee heals.
Andrew Friedman downplayed Ohtani’s right biceps soreness, too.
鈥淚f it weren’t for the knee, he would be pitching right now,鈥� Friedman said Wednesday. 鈥淲e didn’t want to put him in a position where he was altering his mechanics to try to protect the knee in any way.鈥�
The team’s president of baseball operations said Ohtani is keeping his right arm active with plyometric throws using a medicine ball that takes the strain off constantly landing on his left leg.
鈥淚t keeps getting better,鈥� Friedman said. 鈥淒oes he feel 100% in his arm? No, but neither does any pitcher in late July.鈥�
The team wants Ohtani’s knee to feel as good as possible before he begins a throwing program on flat ground or off a mound.
鈥淚 feel confident that relatively soon he鈥檚 going to start getting out and start ramping up for catch-play and bullpens and getting him back,鈥� Friedman said.
That belief is based on the progress Ohtani says he’s felt so far and an MRI done on his knee during the All-Star break that came back clear. That’s also when he had a lubricant injection in his knee.
In the meantime, Ohtani will continue serving as the designated hitter. He has said his knee doesn’t bother him when he’s hitting.
鈥淚f there was something structural, then we would be much more concerned,鈥� Friedman said. 鈥淭he fact that there鈥檚 not and the fact that it does keep improving suggests that we鈥檙e on the right path.鈥�
Friedman said Ohtani’s current unavailability on the mound hasn’t created an acute need to add pitching with the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaching. The Dodgers have been mentioned as a possible destination for two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal of Detroit.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always open-minded to different things,鈥� Friedman said, 鈥渂ut the biggest thing for us is to do everything we can in the offseason to not put ourselves in a position in July where you absolutely have to do something because it is far and away the worst time to acquire a player.鈥�
Ohtani is 8-2 on the mound with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts over 85 2/3 innings.
The four-time MVP hasn’t pitched since July 3. His form didn’t look the same in his handful of starts before the All-Star break due to the sore knee that first flared up on June 11 and led to him overcompensating with his upper body, creating tightness in his right biceps.
鈥淭he stuff was still in a really good place, execution was a little bit off from what we鈥檝e typically seen from him,鈥� Friedman said. 鈥淚’ll bet on him to execute.鈥�
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