LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers’ plan to keep Shohei Ohtani healthy seems to include a new wrinkle – more frequent off days.
Two days after the team had an off day, Ohtani got one of his own. He was not in the lineup for Thursday night’s series finale against the Seattle Mariners. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the training staff told him Ohtani went for treatment on his left knee after Wednesday’s game and indicated “maybe tonight might be a good day for him to be down.”
Roberts admitted that it “surprised” him to hear that so soon after the off day on Monday.
“Going into yesterday, I expected him to play today but then I appreciate him saying that there’s some soreness to then allow me to make a decision on what is in his best interest and that’s what we’re doing,” Roberts said.
“I appreciate the communication. I can’t read minds. The training staff can’t read minds. So just for him to communicate that then allows for us to make a decision.”
Roberts said there was no specific moment during Wednesday’s game that led to the increased soreness in Ohtani’s knee. But Ohtani was 5 for 7 with three extra-base hits, two walks and two runs scored in the games Tuesday and Wednesday – more running than he had done recently. Ohtani was just 7 for 38 (.184) during the nine-game road trip out of the All-Star break.
“The last couple days he’s been on base a lot more, so I think that’s been a good thing in one sense whereas the last part of the road trip he wasn’t,” Roberts said. “So there might have been a little something to that.”
Ohtani had four days off during the All-Star break, skipping the game and the festivities surrounding it. The team had an off day during the ensuing road trip and again after it on Monday.
That he would need another day off so soon makes it seem likely the Dodgers are going to have to consider giving Ohtani more down time over the next two months.
“Fair question,” Roberts said. “I’m trying to restrain from kind of forecasting what’s going to happen as opposed to just reading and reacting. Three days ago, we just had an off day and to say there’s some soreness certainly is different than what we’ve done the last two weeks. Is it a trend? I hope not. But if it is, then we just have to manage it.”
The best way to manage it might be to put Ohtani on the injured list and give him a 10-day (or 15 as a pitcher) break to heal up both the knee and the right biceps that he cited again this week as an ongoing problem.
“That’s a hard question and I understand the thought behind it,” Roberts said. “But it (the left knee) has gotten better over the last few weeks, markedly. He’s been a productive player. But to kind of essentially take it out of his hands, shut him down – the player, you trust him. He feels like he can go. He’s not 100 percent. Very few players are 100 percent. … For me, there’s still that conversation where he understands what is the most important part of the season is to come and he understands his value with our team.
“We’re talking about this constantly. We are. And nothing should be off the table and nothing is set in stone. So I think it’s more of how he feels. … Now with this new information we’ve got to have new conversations.”
SNELL PLAN
Left-hander Blake Snell rejoined the Dodgers on Thursday after throwing four scoreless innings on a rehab start for Class-A Ontario on Wednesday. Snell, who had surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow in May, allowed a single in the first inning then retired 11 consecutive batters. He struck out nine while throwing 60 pitches.
The question now is whether that will be Snell’s final rehab start before dropping back into the Dodgers’ starting rotation.
“I think the front office and (pitching coach) Mark (Prior) are going to huddle up,” Roberts said. “I think the question now is will he go out and do another rehab to get to five (innings) and 75 (pitches) or is that five innings going to be with us? I can’t answer that right now.”
With Ohtani out of the rotation, the Dodgers still plan to stay with a six-man rotation. That sixth spot could be a bullpen game – or Snell could return next week during their series in Chicago.
“That’s part of the calculus,” Roberts said. “Does he feel good about it? Do we feel good about it? There is an opportunity. But we could still manage it if we don’t do that. So there’s some ways we could go.”
UP NEXT
Red Sox (LHP Ranger Suarez, 4-3, 3.02 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Edgardo Henriquez, 4-1, 2.79 ERA), Friday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM