With Aug. 1 being a week from today, there doesn't seem to be any urgency from Los Angeles Dodgers management to have Shohei Ohtani pitch in July.

Ultimately, it's not like it really matters. Ohtani has given this team everything on the mound, but they continue to win as his bat is more than enough to help out the back-to-back World Series champions.

LA has been dealing with quite a few major injuries this season, and the last thing manager Dave Roberts wants to do is rush Ohtani back and have to shut him down even further.

Here on Saturday, July 25, Ohtani is scheduled to throw another bullpen session. Things are absolutely trending in the right direction, but Roberts spoke about the team's approach with the four-time MVP.

"I feel very good that it won't be next week," Roberts told ESPN. He continued, "Every player wants to get back out there and do what they do. But I think he [Ohtani] understands it's not about July, it's about October. So, we've already taken a lot of time to get him back to full health, so we're not going to start earlier than we need to."

The two-way superstar last pitched on Friday, July 3, in a start that saw him strike out nine batters. His ERA increased from 1.58 to 1.79 as he allowed three earned runs on seven hits. Ohtani allowed just his fourth home run of the season in that game, but his nine strikeouts were tied for his second-best performance in 2026.

After starting the year 2-0, Ohtani dropped two of his next three starts. From there, he managed to win four straight, and has won six of his last eight starts going back to Wednesday, May 13.

The four-time World Series-winning manager added, "There's constant conversation going on each day, but I think the main thing with Shohei with this pitching thing is to just remain nimble."

Seeing as Ohtani was 2-1 with a stellar 1.13 WHIP and 4.0 K/BB ratio in the 2025 postseason, it's not even remotely surprising that the Dodgers are content with him losing out on regular season starts. 

This team is seemingly going to do everything in their power to three-peat, and that strongly relies on Ohtani's shoulders. He can't do everything, but sometimes it feels like he can, and losing out on his arm in the playoffs would be a massive blow to a team that's on the verge of National League history.

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