Dodgers' Friedman: Ohtani 'not really an option' to pitch in playoffs

Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman poured plenty of cold water on hopes of Shohei Ohtani pitching in the postseason.

"We aren't even thinking about that right now," Friedman said, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. "Again, this is like January for him. He's just barely a year out from Tommy John.

"To me, he's not really an option."

Speculation about Ohtani's potential availability on the mound in October began to grow over the last few weeks as he began a post-surgery throwing program and the Dodgers' litany of pitching injuries mounted. Manager Dave Roberts stoked the fires in a big way when he refused to rule out using the two-way superstar as a reliever during playoff games if needed.

However, Ohtani has thrown off a mound just six times since undergoing surgery last year, according to Plunkett. Three of those bullpen sessions came this week, and he increased his reps to 30 pitches.

Both Ohtani and Friedman stressed that a previously scheduled meeting next week has nothing to do with any October pitching plans. Rather, Ohtani and the team will discuss the progression of his rehab timeline with an eye toward his being ready for Opening Day 2025.

"There's no conversation that was brought about with the pitching coach in terms of pitching in the postseason," Ohtani said through his interpreter earlier this week.

"If you strip away what's going on with the Dodgers, right now he's thrown about five bullpens, which is the equivalent of January, late January in his progression (in a normal offseason buildup) and October lines up at some point middle to late for live BPs like pitchers do when they come to spring training," Friedman explained. "The question is whether to do those then (in October) or do them in November but make sure he has enough shutdown time before the start of the following year. This has been on our radar as something to talk about since spring training."

Ohtani underwent surgery to repair a ligament in his right elbow last September while with the Los Angeles Angels. The 30-year-old threw 132 innings in the majors last year and also made several memorable mound appearances for Samurai Japan at the World Baseball Classic.

The Dodgers' pitching staff has been decimated by injuries over the last few months. Tyler Glasnow was placed on the 60-day injured list Wednesday with an elbow sprain, while Roberts admitted rookie Gavin Stone is unlikely to pitch again this year. Franchise icon Clayton Kershaw's status for the playoffs is also in question as he continues to rehab from a toe injury.