Shohei Ohtani takes live batting-practice step as Dodgers eye an eventual return to their rotation

Shohei Ohtani took a meaningful step in his push to return to the Dodgers’ pitching rotation, throwing live batting practice for the first time since the knee injury that has kept him out since July, according to Yahoo Sports. The session represents progress in the type of work that typically precedes a return to game pitching, especially for a player coming off a lower-body ailment.

The knee injury has altered Ohtani’s availability and role, removing him from the rotation and shifting the team’s in-season planning. Yahoo Sports characterized Saturday’s work as “really positive,” framing it as a notable checkpoint on the road back rather than a guarantee of an immediate return to starts.

For the Dodgers, Ohtani’s value is not limited to one side of the game. Even with his pitching on hold, his two-way profile influences roster usage, lineup construction, and bullpen management because the team can plan around fewer specialized needs when a two-way option is fully available. His progress toward live hitting-facing work also suggests that the Dodgers believe his conditioning is moving in the right direction.

From Ohtani’s perspective, live batting practice is a specific kind of test. It goes beyond conditioning, asking the body to handle repeated, high-intensity motions in a game-like environment. For a pitcher working through a knee issue, that matters because late-swinging lower-body mechanics can be sensitive to pain and stability, and the staff will look for how he completes reps and recovers afterward.

Because the report does not provide a timetable or a decision on when he could be reinserted into the rotation, the next steps are the real story. The typical sequence after live batting practice involves monitoring how the knee responds across subsequent days and whether additional baseball activity progresses without setbacks. Until then, the Dodgers will continue to manage around his absence with the rotation depth they have built.

The development arrives in a late-season context where roster roles become more defined and opportunities for pitchers can become more tightly scheduled. If Ohtani continues to advance through baseball activities, his return would likely carry ripple effects for the bullpen and for how the Dodgers balance starting-pitching workloads. For now, the key takeaway is that he has resumed live batting-practice competition, a step that indicates the rehab process is moving forward.