The wait-and-see phenomenon between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani breaks a new chapter.

Following the Dodgers' slim 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, Ohtani spoke to the media for the first time since the first half of the season concluded via SportsNetLA and said that his knee and right bicep are not up to par.

This, in turn, has primarily affected Ohtani's time on the mound as the clock now hits three weeks since the right-hander pitched for Los Angeles. 

"My bicep’s not 100%," Ohtani said. "Similar issue with the knee — do we consider pushing this? It is still July, so I think the conversation would be a little different if we’re in August or September." 

Ohtani once again has to face his right bicep flaring up, the same one that extracted him from his last outing against the San Diego Padres dating back to early July.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the media via SportsNetLA that Ohtani began feeling his bicep flaring up following his last bullpen session on July 23 in Philadelphia, which has resulted in his throwing progression flattening.

"There is an effect on the lower half to the compromising of the upper half, the arm, and so trying to mitigate that, we stopped the throwing, stopped the bullpens," Roberts said.

When it comes to next steps, Roberts' main objective is to maintain Ohtani's recovery from his knee while also mitigating his recurring biceps issues. On the latter, until it becomes a more severe issue on both sides, Roberts will continue to have Ohtani hit in the leadoff spot. 

"Hopefully, No. 1, take care of the knee, and then not try to have him create velocity with the arm that's not 100%. So that's kind of where we're at," Roberts said. 

"I haven’t heard anything about not being in the lineup, not wanting to play. Until I hear otherwise, he’s going to be in the lineup."

Ohtani is on the same page regarding solely focusing on having his knee feel 100% while also working towards improving offensively. 

"I do have to focus on the hitting side, the position-player side of things. That's what I have to kind of deal with," Ohtani said. 

Now the question becomes whether Ohtani is a viable candidate to pitch for the Dodgers come October. 

Roberts believes Ohtani will pitch, but it will come with the trials of building him back up to a full-time starter. 

"Given where we're at in the calendar, if the knee continued to get better, the arm continues to feel better, I would expect him to pitch," Roberts said. "But again, this is something probably more for Shohei or the training staff to try to answer."

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