Dave Roberts addressed a Dodgers roster move, provided an update on Shohei Ohtani's pitching rehab, and reacted to news of Mark Walter selling the Lakers during a press conference on August 11, 2026.
Roberts said the club made the move with Seth Halverson to protect bullpen length, with Landon Knack recalled in his place. "To just kind of protect the downside, the length, we got Landon Knack back," Roberts said, adding that Halverson is expected back with the team at some point.
On Ohtani, Roberts noted the two-way player has progressed to dry throws off the mound. "Throwing out 200 plus feet yesterday and then doing the dry throws," Roberts said, noting that getting on the mound is probably the next step. He outlined that Ohtani's rehab path would move through bullpens and live sessions before building up to major league games by inning, similar to the previous season's process. Roberts explained that 2025's approach involved building up Ohtani's workload "inning here and inning there" during the season, and he said Ohtani's health remains the priority regardless of other pitchers' roles, given his status as a two-way player.
Roberts also noted that a setback Ohtani experienced after a bullpen session in Philadelphia may have made him more accepting of a gradual return process. "Having had that kind of setback after the bullpen in Philadelphia maybe has a bit more buy-in to just moving slowly," Roberts said. He separately expressed excitement about the rotation coming together, pointing to Blake Snell's outing, along with recent performances from Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, who Roberts said is on his way to throwing three innings in an upcoming assignment.
Roberts mentioned Mookie Betts had a strong showing in Chicago after a rough stretch in Arizona, saying he hoped Betts could build on it. Asked about Mark Walter selling the Lakers, Roberts said he was shocked like everyone else and stated he has heard nothing about any changes to Dodgers ownership.