Add The California Post on Google CINCINNATI — Amid a champagne-spraying, speaker-blaring, beer-soaked clubhouse scene on Thursday afternoon, there was one matter of on-field business for Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman to address.
How was Shohei Ohtani doing in his recovery from right arm and left knee injuries?
“He’s doing well,” Friedman said, as the team celebrated another National League West title around him at Great American Ball Park. “He’s progressing well.”
Well enough for the two-way star — who was rehabbing back in Los Angeles during the club’s division-clinching road trip — to return before the beginning of the playoffs?
“I expect him back in the regular season,” Friedman declared.
Indeed, by all accounts from team officials over the last couple days, Ohtani has been taking encouraging steps forward as he aims to return from the injured list when eligible next Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Ohtani took his first swings since being removed from the active roster, beginning a hitting ramp-up with reps off a batting tee.
And after a day off from activities Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts said before Thursday’s game that the four-time MVP will advance to coach-pitch batting practice later this week.
“There’s no pain. He’s doing everything he needs to do,” Roberts said. “I still don’t know when [the] time to return to play is. But everything that I hear is really positive.”
Roberts described Ohtani as feeling “normal-ish” so far in his recovery work. He noted that the slugger has reported no recurrence of discomfort in his arm as he has begun building back up to a return to the field.
That doesn’t mean Ohtani will get back to 100% in time for October.
The ship on that likely sailed after he tried playing through his injuries, at least as a hitter, during the second half of the season — until it reached the point where he was showing visible signs of pain in multiple games earlier this month.
The Dodgers already know Ohtani won’t be able to pitch in the playoffs, after he endured repeated setbacks in his pitching progression despite not making an actual start since July 3.
They know he might still have to battle through his ailments at the plate in the playoffs, as the team attempts to complete a World Series three-peat.
Still, even having a relatively healthy version of Ohtani could weigh heavily in the team’s championship ambitions.
Not until he returns to action will they know exactly where he is at healthwise, after he suffered a 6-for-52 slump leading up to his IL placement.
But for now, they remain hopeful — of not only having Ohtani back by the start of the playoffs but increasingly likely even before then.
