LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani ran the bases at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, took a round of simulated at-bats, and gave Dave Roberts enough to say what the Dodgers needed to hear: there is a good chance their best hitter will be back in the lineup by Wednesday.
That would be the first game of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres, the kind of opponent that makes a timely return matter. The Dodgers lead the NL West and are chasing an unprecedented third consecutive World Series title, and for the past two weeks they have been doing it without the man who is, unambiguously, the center of their offense.
Ohtani landed on the 15-day injured list September 8, his first IL stint since joining Los Angeles, after the club disclosed inflammation in his right biceps and soreness in his left knee. Roberts said at the time they were being cautious. That caution stretched to nearly two full weeks before Saturday’s workout suggested a corner had been turned.
“There’s a good chance he gets activated Wednesday or Thursday,” Roberts told reporters following the workout. Asked whether Ohtani was ready for October, Roberts left nothing to interpretation: “If the playoffs were tomorrow, he’d be in the lineup.”
The remark carries real weight. The Dodgers open postseason play September 29, just nine days away, and the regular season ends September 27. Getting Ohtani back to full game readiness with at least a few competitive plate appearances before the wild-card round is not just preferable, it is probably necessary for the offense to function the way it needs to function when the margin for error disappears.
The one firm condition: Ohtani returns only as designated hitter. As Yahoo Sports reported, the club has shut him down from pitching for the remainder of the 2026 season. Ohtani had not appeared on the mound in weeks before the IL placement; the biceps issue effectively ended what was already a pitch-light second half for the two-way star. He will not throw again until spring training.
The Padres understand this better than most. San Diego has been one of the toughest outs in the National League the last two months, and the rivalry carries an edge this late in the regular season. Whether Ohtani is in the lineup Wednesday or Thursday depends in part on how his body responds to Saturday’s workout and what the training staff reports early next week. Roberts offered the timeline; the body will confirm or revise it.
That uncertainty is the honest condition of a 15-day injured list return. Simulated at-bats replicate competitive stress in a controlled environment; they are not the same as facing major league velocity with a playoff series approaching. The Dodgers know what they are likely getting if they activate him Wednesday, but how he moves through those first at-bats, how the biceps feels after a full round of swings, will tell a different part of the story.
What is not in question is why it matters. Los Angeles won the World Series in 2024 and 2025 and has not played an October series without Ohtani since he arrived. This run toward a third consecutive title will be defined in large part by what version of him steps into the batter’s box when the calendar turns. In the meantime, Mookie Betts has been carrying the offense, going 4-for-4 with three doubles Saturday in a 10-4 rout of the Giants. A rusty Ohtani taking live at-bats before October is still Ohtani. The version who put up those first-half numbers, the one opposing pitching staffs have spent the full year failing to neutralize, is something no one on the other side of the diamond has found an answer for.
Roberts is not known for offering public reassurance without evidence. His deliberate “if the playoffs were tomorrow” framing suggested that his usually cautious assessment carried genuine weight.
The exact activation date has not been determined and may remain unsettled until Monday or Tuesday. It will depend on how Shohei Ohtani feels Sunday morning, how his biceps responds to Saturday’s workload over the following 48 hours, and whether anything changes before Wednesday’s first pitch.
The Padres series begins the Dodgers’ final regular-season stretch. Whether Ohtani starts it from the first inning or joins a day later is the final question Los Angeles needs answered before October.
