Dave Roberts said on July 28, 2026 that Shohei Ohtani stopped throwing bullpens because his compromised knee was affecting his arm and bicep, with the Los Angeles Dodgers trying to protect his overall health.
Roberts explained the connection between the two issues, saying the team was "trying to mitigate that we stopped the throwing, stopped the bullpens to hopefully number one take care of the knee and then not have him try to create velocity with the arm that's not 100%." He added that there is "an effect from the lower half to the compromising of the upper half, the arm."
According to Roberts, the bicep issue first appeared when Ohtani took a swing roughly three to four weeks before the game. Roberts noted that Ohtani later attempted to ramp back up his bullpen work around the time the team was in Philadelphia or New York, but the arm "just wasn't responding and neither was his knee." Roberts also said Ohtani has not thrown off the mound in three weeks.
Despite the injury concerns, Roberts stated that Ohtani's value as a hitter and baserunner remains unaffected. "We need him in the lineup. The swing, the running of the bases, the knee, the arm doesn't compromise that," he said. Roberts mentioned that Ohtani looked more like himself after a day off following an exhausting road trip, including a double in his last at-bat, capping a stretch that had lacked home runs in close games.
On the postseason outlook, Roberts acknowledged it is not guaranteed but said it would be highly unlikely for Ohtani not to pitch if his condition doesn't improve. "Everything that I've heard, that's not the option... for me it's highly unlikely," he stated. He was direct, however, about the immediate outlook: "If the World Series was next week, no, because he hasn't pitched in 3 weeks." Roberts said any return to pitching would require a build-up period given the layoff, adding, "there has to be a build-up. So, I just don't know. I don't think anyone can kind of foresee what that looks like."
Separately, Roberts addressed the team's loss to the Seattle Mariners, saying the Mariners aggressively attacked pitches that stayed up in the zone against Justin, and noting that Alex threw a poorly located 0-1 slider that was hit hard, calling it "middle-middle."