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Shohei Ohtani is back in the Dodgers lineup for Monday’s Labor Day game against the Cincinnati Reds, but the organization has officially shut down his throwing program for the remainder of 2026, per staff at the Los Angeles Times. The decision to prioritize Ohtani’s offensive availability while eliminating any possibility of pitching contributions represents a formal pivot in how the team will manage his health down the stretch and into the postseason.

Ohtani‘s return to the lineup after missing four consecutive games shows the rest period was effective in managing his biceps injury, left knee soreness, and neck discomfort enough for him to contribute as a hitter. However, the simultaneous shutdown of his throwing program signals the organization has made a hard choice: his body cannot handle both roles, and his pitching arm needs preservation beyond September. The biceps injury that emerged following the Cardinals series remains the central issue. A healthy biceps is essential to both hitting mechanics and throwing velocity. By eliminating the possibility of him pitching, the Dodgers are removing one source of stress on that injury and allowing it to heal fully. This is pragmatism, not optimism. The team is accepting the loss of his dual-role value to keep his bat in the lineup.

For the Dodgers, this decision crystallizes the unfortunate reality of our 2026 season with Ohtani. We signed a generational talent to provide value as both a hitter and a pitcher. Injuries have reduced him to a designated hitter. That’s not ideal, but it’s better than losing him entirely. If his biceps is healthy enough to swing a bat in October playoff baseball, that’s progress. Asking him to also throw would be reckless. The organization has accepted the trade-off: maximize his offensive potential, accept that his pitching won’t contribute this year.

With Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Tarik Skubal as our primary rotation and Edgardo Henríquez providing depth, we have enough arms to compete. We don’t need Ohtani on the mound. We need his bat working. Getting him back in the leadoff spot for Cincinnati shows the team’s commitment to salvaging offensive production in these final weeks. Whether he stays healthy for a full October run is now the central question. The throwing program shutdown means one less injury risk. That’s all we can hope for as we push toward the postseason with a compromised but functional version of baseball’s most dynamic player.

Source(s): Staff (Los Angeles Times) | First reported: September 8, 2026 12:03 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers