Shohei Ohtani spoke candidly about where his recovery stands, acknowledging that his pitching had not yet returned to its previous level and that the situation called for an overall cautious approach. He noted that running remained one of the more difficult elements to manage, explaining that judging the right moment to push at full speed on the bases was tricky when he was not sure his body would actually respond at that capacity.
Asked whether the plan was to keep pitching through the discomfort or to wait until the knee fully recovered, Ohtani suggested that waiting was likely the better path for now. He pointed out that despite the loss on the day, the Los Angeles Dodgers remained in a good position overall, and said that whether it made sense to push through and pitch anyway was something that would ultimately be decided together with the team rather than by him alone.
On the topic of bullpen sessions, Ohtani said that if there were truly no issues, progress would continue steadily toward a full return. However, he explained that if he were sitting at somewhere around 90-something percent, with a small remaining percentage still causing discomfort, the approach would lean toward continuing to rest rather than forcing things.
Regarding whether the knee would reach full strength this season without affecting his pitching, Ohtani said he believed things were clearly improving, and that he intended to keep working toward getting back to full health. At the same time, he emphasized that since he continues to play as a hitter, his focus for now needs to remain on doing his job well in that role. He also addressed a question about the biceps, noting that it was not at full strength either, and that decisions about how much to push it would similarly depend on ongoing evaluation, particularly as the calendar moved into August and September.
Ohtani also reflected on a recent period of rest, saying that while conditioning continued during that time, clear improvement was evident, though he did not believe, based on conversations with team doctors, that the discomfort would fully disappear before the offseason. He indicated that continuing rehab work while trying to get as close to fully pain-free as possible would remain an ongoing process, and that decisions involving a team doctor about how to handle it long-term would likely be made after the season concludes, possibly extending into the postseason period.