Ohtani mound return still up in air as Dodgers get healthier

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers, holders of the majors' best record and largest division lead, are only getting healthier.

Enrique Hernandez, their effervescent super-utility player, was activated from the injured list Tuesday, before the start of a three-game home series against the Seattle Mariners. Edwin Diaz, their star closer, is expected to follow Wednesday. Blake Snell, their $182 million starting pitcher, could be back next week. And Will Smith, their everyday catcher, has started baseball activities, an encouraging sign in his recovery from a neck injury.

But Shohei Ohtani's pitching status remains in question.

While Ohtani continues to start in the lineup, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he was still unsure when he would get on a mound again. Ohtani, 32, was scratched from his first start after the All-Star break last Wednesday because of continued discomfort in his left knee. He threw a 30-pitch bullpen session in Philadelphia that day, but a bullpen session scheduled for three days later was postponed. Ohtani hasn't pitched in a game since July 3, and hasn't thrown a baseball in any capacity in six days.

The longer he's away, the likelier it is that he would have to build all the way back up from scratch.

"We are getting closer to that," Roberts said. "He's a starting pitcher, so when you start missing three, four, five weeks of that build-up, then you got to kind of start up again."

Snell, who has made one start this season, is scheduled for what could be his final rehab start Wednesday. Tyler Glasnow, out because of back spasms since early May, will face hitters at Dodger Stadium that same day, which could be his final step before going out on his own rehab assignment.

Snell and Glasnow are both expected back next month, joining a rotation headlined by Yoshinobu Yamamoto and featuring Justin Wrobleski, Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan. And because he doesn't count as one of the team's 13 allotted pitchers, Ohtani could return to the rotation before he is fully stretched out, opening games the way he did while returning from elbow surgery last season.

Meanwhile, rival executives continue to view the Dodgers as the favorites to land reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubalif the Tigers make him available, pointing to their deep farm system, their desire to win a third straight championship, and the injury questions in their rotation as Monday's trade deadline approaches. Privately, though, Dodgers officials have mostly downplayed their interest in Skubal. And Roberts publicly voiced his support for the current starters Tuesday.

"I feel very confident," he said. "Obviously with Snell being more built up, everything that I'm hearing from the medical staff. I think Tyler is in a really good spot physically, on his way back to going out [on a rehab assignment]. And then Shohei, I just think that we're trying to be prudent. So overall, in total, I feel very good for the rest [of the season] with all three of these guys as starting pitchers."