PHILADELPHIA — Shohei Ohtani wrapped up long toss in the Citizens Bank Park outfield Wednesday afternoon, turned and headed for the two-story bullpen stairs.
Ohtani had initially been scheduled to take the mound for the Dodgers Wednesday against the Phillies. But, with the date of his next pitching start up in the air, his bullpen session still drew a lot of eyes.
Ohtani threw off a mound Wednesday for the first time since receiving an Orthovisc injection in his left knee to lubricate the joint. The side session of about 30 pitches, running through multiple pitch types, was similar to a normal between-starts bullpen, pitching coach Mark Prior said.
“It looked good,” Prior said. “Feels good. We’ll see where he’s at tomorrow.”
Asked if Ohtani said his knee was feeling 100%, Prior said they didn’t get into specifics.
“Just said, ‘How did you feel throwing?’ He said it felt great,” Prior said.
Ohtani, who was in the lineup Wednesday as the designated hitter, was not made available to comment before the game.
It’s still unclear when Ohtani will pick up pitching duties again. But manager Dave Roberts ruled out Ohtani starting on the mound this weekend against the Mets.
“It’s day by day with him,” Prior said. “We’re present today. He threw a bullpen, see where he comes in … Friday, since we’re off [Thursday]. We’ll make determinations after that.”
This bullpen session was a chance for Ohtani to test his knee, which before the injection seemed to be aggravated by pitching.
“It’s a big sign,” Roberts said. “Because the grass, the flat ground, all of that stuff is well and good, the arm is fine. So it’s more of getting down the slope, throwing over your front side. That’s kind of the big test. Usually the bullpens are right around 88 (mph), so we’ll see where he’s at.”
Ohtani has already been out long enough that the Dodgers will have to be mindful of his workload whenever he rejoins the rotation. His last start on the mound was July 3 against the Padres.
“I still think it hasn’t been so long that the equity that he’s built up with the pitch count is that much compromised,” Roberts said. “But with that, I can’t foresee him running out there and throwing 100 pitches his first outing.”
If he’s sidelined for too long, he could have to gradually build up with each start. But it’s hard to pinpoint where that delineation lies.
“I think the easy answer is to say every pitcher is different,” Roberts said.
