GLENDALE, Ariz. — The road back to two-way player status doesn’t come with a map.
Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said the decision to “slow play” Shohei Ohtani’s throwing program as the team is preparing to head to Japan was a pivot made in “the last 72 hours or so” in response to the very unique situation Ohtani presents.
“It’s been one of those things where … we’re having to lean on him a lot,” Prior said Friday. “We don’t really have this template or road map or even experience really dealing with a guy with a two-way situation. So we’re leaning on him, on how he’s feeling. I know they’re trying to control overall workload management with his left shoulder, coming back from that (surgery). The hitting, getting ready for the season – clearly, he’s an important part of our offensive side of the ball.
“I think right now, there’s a little bit of a shift towards making sure he’s dialed in, ready to go, from a DH standpoint. It was going to get a little weird, you know, in Japan, just because of the days off and workouts and stuff like that. So I think this was a good time to just kind of like de-load and make sure he’s geared up, ready to go, and then continue to throw and then gear up once we get back.”
Ohtani threw four bullpen sessions in a little over a week, building up to 30 pitches in the Feb. 25 session. But he has not thrown off a mound since then, continuing to play catch and throw on flat ground.
Prior said there was nothing negative that precipitated the decision to back off on Ohtani’s throwing program that he was “aware of.” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said trainers continue to monitor Ohtani’s velocity during his flat-ground throwing sessions and it is “just right where it needed to be.”
The Dodgers made a similar decision last fall. Ohtani built up to throwing bullpen sessions late in the regular season but stopped throwing off a mound and limited his work to playing catch in the outfield on an occasional basis while focusing on being the Dodgers’ DH during their postseason run.
“It’s not something that’s ideal,” Prior said. “But you find different ways. It’s not something personally or professionally we’ve gone through, as far as trying to manage.
“There are a lot of variables that are unique to his situation. So I think it’s just about having an open mind and trying to be cautiously optimistic and take the right approach. Again, a lot of this is kind of where Sho is at and making sure he feels comfortable with what he’s doing.”
The plan for now is to have Ohtani “ramp back up” when the Dodgers return from Japan and prepare for their home opener on March 27. He will start facing hitters in simulated-game settings at some point after that.
“But we’ll just see kind of where we’re at after the next 10 days, two weeks,” Prior said.
Prior also pointed out that the Dodgers’ depth in starting pitching options allows them to put no pressure on Ohtani to return quickly and focus instead on having him at full strength for another postseason run.
“This isn’t a situation where we need him to round out five starters, in a traditional sense,” Prior said. “He’s not going to be a traditional starter anyway. He’s going to be pitching probably once a week, and the idea is to make sure we have him at the right time of the season to maximize it.”