Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is expected to start on the mound Wednesday as he continues his buildup from elbow surgery that kept him from pitching all last season.
Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday before the Dodgers faced the Boston Red Sox in the finale of their three-game series that the plan is for Ohtani to work four innings at Cincinnati, with an off day to recover before hitting in a game.
With the Japanese superstar working his way back along with left-hander Blake Snell, who pitched 4 2/3 innings on Saturday in his fourth rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City, the Dodgers will be using a six-man rotation.
They currently have Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Emmet Sheehan in the rotation.
“Shohei is going to go on Wednesday and then he’ll probably pitch the following Wednesday, so that probably lends itself to the six-man,” Roberts said.
In Ohtani’s last start, he allowed one run and four hits in three innings against Minnesota on July 22. He struck out three and walked one, throwing 46 pitches, 30 for strikes.
Roberts feels like this season is sort of a rehab year in the big leagues and doesn’t foresee the team extending Ohtani’s workload deep into games for a while.
“I think this whole year on the pitching side is sort of rehab, maintenance,” he said. “We’re not going to have the reins off where we’re going to say: ‘Hey you can go 110 pitches.’ I don’t see that happening for quite some time. I think that staying at four (innings) for a bit, then build up to five and we’ll see where we can go from there.”
Also Sunday, the club activated right-handed reliever Blake Treinen from the injured list and recalled left-hander Justin Wrobleski.
The 37-year-old Treinen was a big part of last season’s run to the World Series title, picking up two victories in the Series against the New York Yankees.
He has been sidelined since April 19 because of forearm tightness.
“I think the only thing I’m going to be mindful of is the up-down,” Roberts said on Treinen’s usage. “To come into an inning of leverage, I have no problem.”
Wrobleski, 25, is with the Dodgers for the fourth time this season. He’s a starter now, but Roberts said he’ll work out of the bullpen.
“Just trying to get a quality arm, get some length, potentially using him in two-inning stints, three-inning stints is going to be helpful for our ‘pen,” Roberts said. “The goal is to get the best pitchers on your roster in whatever role.”
To make room on the roster, LA optioned right-handers Will Klein and Edgardo Henriquez.
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