Shohei Ohtani could return to pitching Sunday, as an opener in front of Tyler Glasnow

Shohei Ohtani appears to be on the verge of making his return as a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Like his comeback from internal brace surgery last year, it will be with baby steps.

Ohtani will throw a bullpen session on Friday and, if all goes well, could make a start on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters via Jack Harris of the California Post. That start would see Ohtani throw only one inning, as an opener.

Tyler Glasnow remains scheduled to pitch Sunday after returning from back spasms on Tuesday. If Ohtani gets the start, he will be work as the bulk guy behind the opener. If Ohtani isn’t ready, it would be a traditional start.

Ohtani has not pitched since July 3 due to a knee issue that has also caused a minor problem with his biceps. He has continued to play nearly every day as a designated hitter and remains locked in a race for NL MVP with Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

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Shohei Ohtani is nearing a (partial) return.

Under most circumstances, a pitcher would go on a rehab assignment after missing nearly two months of playing time. However, the Dodgers have persistently declined to do so with Ohtani, as building his arm back up in the minors would require taking their most important bat out of the lineup.

So Ohtani will basically do his rehab assignments in the majors, building up from that potential one-inning start. He did something similar last year returning from a longer and more significant lay-off, throwing one inning in his first two starts, two innings in his next two, three innings in his next three and around four in the next three.

That timeline lasted more than two months, though, time the Dodgers do not have with the playoffs only five weeks away.

It remains unclear how exactly Ohtani figures into the Dodgers’ planned postseason. They already have a strong quartet of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Glasnow, but the team has clearly prioritized having a fully functional Ohtani read for October.