Shohei Ohtanis return as Dodgers pitcher could happen sooner than expected

Following a prolonged absence from the Dodgers’ starting rotation because of a lingering injury to his left knee, Shohei Ohtani is finally nearing the end of his recovery process as a pitcher.And suddenly, as manager Dave Roberts said on Sunday, the two-way star’s return to the mound could happen sooner than the team had initially indicated.A day after Ohtani threw 30 pitches in a live batting practice session at Dodger Stadium — marking his first time facing hitters since he last started a game as a pitcher on July 3 — Roberts said the right-hander could now be ready to return to game action as a pitcher.Ohtani is scheduled to throw a bullpen session during the team’s upcoming series in Atlanta this week.After that, the team will decide if he is ready to rejoin the Dodgers’ rotation or if he will need one more session of live BP first; something that had been originally expected during Ohtani’s buildup in recent weeks.In the former scenario, Ohtani could make his pitching return sometime next week, Roberts said.It wasn’t clear if that could happen during the team’s series in Detroit next weekend or once the club returns to Los Angeles for a homestand that begins against the Cardinals on Sept.

1.Either way, it represents an encouraging sign for the 32-year-old’s pitching status, bolstering his chances of getting completely built up in time to potentially make full-length starts in the postseason.“I think it’s more of how the ‘pen goes, and to be quite honest how Shohei feels,” Roberts said.“If he feels like he can take on a game and throw an inning, great.”Indeed, whenever Ohtani returns to the Dodgers’ rotation, it will be with an initially limited workload.However, Roberts said the club will likely increase Ohtani’s workload more quickly than it did last year, when he returned from a second career Tommy John surgery by building up one inning at a time.Last season, Ohtani made two one-inning starts upon returning to the mound i...