Playing with fire? Dave Roberts puts a date on Shohei Ohtani’s risky return to the mound

S hohei Ohtani , the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar, appears to be getting closer to returning to the mound in Major League Baseball .

The Japanese two-way star is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Friday as part of his preparation for a potential start Sunday against the Detroit Tigers, according to Jack Harris of California Post .

“Shohei Ohtani update: Dave Roberts said he will actually throw his bullpen on Friday, in anticipation of a possible start Sunday (Ohtani usually throws his bullpens two days before starts),” Harris shared in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “They’ll see how his ‘pen goes, but he’s definitely trending toward starting Sunday.”

It has been nearly two months since Ohtani’s last appearance as a pitcher for the Dodgers. His most recent outing on the mound came on July 4 against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium , where he pitched six innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits while striking out nine batters in Los Angeles’ 4-3 victory .

Since that outing, Ohtani has not been cleared to return to pitching due to knee and biceps issues.

If the Japanese superstar is not ready to start Sunday against the Tigers at Comerica Park , recently recovered Tyler Glasnow would take over as the starter, according to Harris. Otherwise, Glasnow would work in relief behind Ohtani, who would have his workload limited to just one inning.

So far this season, Ohtani owns an 8-2 record with an impressive 1.79 ERA across 14 starts . His return to the mound would provide a major boost for the Dodgers as they look to enter the final stretch of the season playing their best baseball.