Ohtani Is Taking Swings Again. Whether That Means Anything for October Is Another Question.

Shohei Ohtani has begun rehab swings, which is the first piece of genuinely encouraging news out of the Dodgers' injury ward in a while. He's on the 15-day IL with 47 games left on the schedule, so the arithmetic for a return before the postseason is still possible — just not comfortable.

The reason this matters beyond the obvious is that Ohtani was doing two jobs. As a hitter he was posting a .293/.383/.556 line in 60 games before going down; as a starter he was 9-3 with a 1.91 ERA in 16 outings. You don't replace either of those, let alone both. The rotation behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been held together with Emmet Sheehan and Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki is also on the IL. Getting Ohtani back even as a DH would help. Getting him back as a starter in time to build any kind of arm strength before October is a different conversation entirely.

The Dodgers are 68-47, magic number sitting at 40, so the division isn't going anywhere. The question is what shape this team is in when the bracket sets. Rehab swings are a start. They are not a timetable.