Ohtani pitching in the playoffs? Roberts says 'anything is possible'

ATLANTA — Asked on MLB Network Radio if Shohei Ohtani was likely to pitch in the postseason, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts answered as candidly as possible.

“I think you should always leave some margin, a crack in the door for any possibility,” Roberts said on SiriusXM MLB Network Radio. “If things line up and a need and play, [Ohtani’s] The body, everything is telling us that it makes sense in that situation, great. It will be storybook.”

The reaction got a lot of instant traction, as does almost anything related to Ohtani. Ohtani will undoubtedly give the Dodgers' depleted pitching staff a much-needed boost. But the two-time American League Most Valuable Player is unlikely to help Los Angeles make the postseason.

“The question I was asked was, 'Is it possible?' Anything is possible,” Roberts expanded on his earlier comments. “We still have a lot of work to do in October and into October. I hope he has motivation in mind for his rehab. But the chances of that happening are slim. But they're not zero. That's it. My only thing.”

Ohtani has been rehabbing from his second major right elbow surgery all season and has progressed to throwing bullpen sessions before games. The two-way player hasn't faced hitters to this point, and it's unclear when that step in his progression will occur.

“He's probably, I mean, I don't know exactly because his calendar is obviously a little weird,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Pryor said. “But if I had to guess based on the volume of the 'pen', he'll still be at least a few more weeks before we get to that discussion. And even then, it could be accelerated.”

Another hurdle for Ohtani and the Dodgers is his rehab schedule in the postseason. Right now, Ohtani is getting all his work done before the Games. But with the high pressure and injury risk of postseason games, it also remains unclear how much, if any, work the two-way player will do before games.

If Ohtani halts his pitching progression in the postseason, there's a slim chance he'll be replaced out of the bullpen. But for now, the Dodgers are at least keeping the door open, especially if they get there late in the season.

“I think we all have to feel very confident that the build-up, the pressure on the pitch, that he will be able to handle,” Roberts said. “The costs and benefits of potentially doing something like that, we all have to be in lockstep and make it make full sense.”

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