Welcome to the daily dose of Ohtani Oracle. As the second half of the MLB season unfolded, the spotlight in Los Angeles again started to beam squarely on one name. Shohei Ohtani! Well, after Ohtani’s return to the mound this season, Dodgers games are no longer just about overpowering opponents. But it’s about the anticipation that surrounds when Ohtani will pitch again, and how much he will perform.

For Ohtani, his every outing is an event, and every update is a headline. And now, with the All-Star break in the rearview, Roberts has once again lifted the curtain on what everyone’s been waiting to hear. The detailed pitching timeline for Shohei Ohtani’s highly anticipated return to the mound.

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So, the Dodgers still aren’t ready to fully unleash Shohei Ohtani on the mound. But he is getting a new tag-team partner for his next start. Ohtani is set to pitch Monday night against the Twins, and this time, Dustin May will be piggybacking with him. If you remember, for his first five starts, the piggybacking role went to Ben Casparius and Emmet Sheehan to support Ohtani. Now, Casparius is back in the bullpen, and Sheehan has earned a spot in the starting rotation.

So, May is the choice of the moment.

Well, Ohtani’s last outing before the All-Star break saw him go three innings and throw 36 pitches. But the Dodgers seem to still be taking things slow. As per Roberts, Ohtani will likely throw just three innings on Monday, with the plan to gradually increase that to four over the next couple of appearances. Hence, in short, don’t expect Ohtani to throw a full, regular start anytime soon.

The Dodgers are getting re-equipped to offer more cushion to Ohtani

You might wonder why the Dodgers are not fully unleashing Ohtani on the mound when he is putting up his career-best figures, especially when the starting rotation has largely remained sidelined. Well, Roberts also hinted at the reason.

“Roki’s doing well. He worked over the All-Star break,” Roberts said on Friday. “Everything I hear has been positive. So hopefully we can keep building him up and face some hitters, and get him out there competing again.”

The Dodgers moved Sasaki to the 60-day IL back in June after he was shut down from his throwing program. As per the latest reports, he started throwing again toward the end of June, after getting a cortisone shot to help ease the pain. Now, he got through a bullpen session last week and was lined up to throw another one on Monday. So, a comeback in the next month is projected.

Still, even if Sasaki makes it back by late August, there won’t be much time for him to fully ramp up for the postseason. But it would still be enough to offer support to Ohtani.

There’s more…

Blake Snell’s rehab is moving along right on schedule. He’s reportedly set for his third rehab start this Sunday with Triple-A Oklahoma City. And he’s expected to go three innings as he works toward a four-inning goal. In his last outing with the Arizona Complex League team, Snell looked sharp, giving up just one run over three innings and striking out seven.

Hence, with both Sasaki and Snell set to come back, Glasnow and Kershaw are already there, the Dodgers are regaining the strength to let Ohtani lighten his workload. And it couldn’t have come at a better time than this.