dodgers star shohei ohtani

NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani’s throwing program has stalled, with the Dodgers star canceling a bullpen session the team had tentatively scheduled for Saturday.

“Just doesn’t feel 100%,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani’s left knee. “And because I think that the last ‘pen that he had, there was a little bit of regression. So we want to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

It was going to be Ohtani’s second bullpen since receiving an orthovisc injection in his knee on July 12. He threw a roughly 30-pitch side session on Wednesday.

It’s unclear when he’ll throw off the mound next. But Roberts said he’s still optimistic that Ohtani will return to the rotation sometime in August.

“It was obviously not ideal, him throwing his last bullpen and going backwards, essentially,” Roberts said. “So obviously that’s disappointing because you throw a bullpen to continue to build up. So that was disappointing. But as far as worry, concern, we don’t have any of that.”

Roberts described a “fluid” process, with plenty of input from Ohtani, as he and Dodgers continue to navigate the knee issue. Because only pitching seems to be aggravating the injury, Ohtani will continue to play at designated hitter.

“From his words, the hitting, the running, as he has done the last couple nights, doesn’t affect him,” Roberts said. “So I can only go by what he and the training staff are telling me. So, unless I hear otherwise, that hitting compromises his health, then I’m going to keep putting him in the lineup.”

The Dodgers had initially hoped the injection and time off leading up to the All-Star break would allow him to get past the discomfort in his knee and not have to worry about managing it for the rest of the season.

Though Ohtani feels better than he did before the break, according to Roberts, the team wasn’t envisioning this kind of start-and-stop buildup.

The schedule does the Dodgers some favors. The off day Monday allows them to get through this coming week without filling Ohtani’s spot in the rotation. But in order to keep all their starters on a six- to seven-day rotation, they’ll have to find a replacement — whether that be a bullpen day or another starter — by the first week of August.

Starting pitcher Blake Snell (arthroscopic elbow surgery) is on track to be close to a return from the injured list by then. In his second rehab start this month, he threw 2⅔ innings (49 pitches) for triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday.

He’ll be targeting four innings in his next start, according to Roberts. When asked if he’d need another rehab outing after that, Roberts said: “Let’s just get through that next one. Get through four innings and kind of read and react from there.”

Injury updates

Dodgers teammates Kiké Hernández, left, and Shohei Ohtani laugh after a win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium on May 29.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers are set to welcome back utility player Kiké Hernández (strained left oblique) and closer Edwin Díaz (arthroscopic elbow surgery) from the injured list early in next week’s homestand.

Hernández is set to be activated Tuesday, as the Dodgers open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners, Roberts said. And Díaz likely will return Wednesday, sliding back into the closer role that Tanner Scott has held in his absence.

Tyler Glasnow (back spasms) threw about 25 pitches in a one-inning live batting practice session Friday, Roberts said. He’s scheduled to throw to batters again next week.

CHICAGO — Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani stepped into the Rate Field batter’s box for the first time this series on Saturday, greeted by a smattering of boos from White Sox fans.

He took his first swing at the second pitch of the game. And he sent it into the right-field stands. A no-doubter, proclaiming that his availability was no longer in doubt.

Ohtani returned to the lineup for the Dodgers’ 7-1 win against the White Sox on Saturday, after exiting the Dodgers’ game Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates and missing Friday against the White Sox because of inflammation in his left knee.

“I felt good waking up in the morning,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after going one for three with a home runs and three walks Saturday. “I feel good now. So I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to stay healthy, and should be good to go [Sunday] as well.”

Ohtani also tested his knee playing catch before the game Saturday. And the Dodgers will continue to monitor him as he prepares to take the mound Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium.

“It wasn’t 100% today,” Ohtani said. “But with the next three, four days, I feel pretty confident, with enough recovery, that I should be able to make the next start.”

Even Ohtani said he hasn’t been able to pinpoint the cause of the swelling. But he has a theory.

“All I can really know for sure is that I think my mechanics weren’t quite great in terms of my pitching side,” he said, “so I believe that had something to do with this.”

Even before Ohtani’s knee swelled the Dodgers planned to have him pitch the day before their Thursday off day.

They switched Ohtani and left-hander Justin Wrobleski in the rotation order, having Wrobleski pitch Thursday on regular rest.

That remains the plan, even after Wrobleski was hit in the leg by a comebacker during his start Thursday. He left the game after that play in the fifth inning with a bruised right hamstring.

The Dodgers considered bringing in a spot starter, manager Dave Roberts said, in order to keep the full rotation on extra rest.

Shohei Ohtani leads off the game with a home run to spark the Dodgers to a 7-1 win over the White Sox on Saturday.

(Matt Marton / Associated Press)

“But considering how Wrobo’s start went short, feels good after it, we feel the four days’ rest will be fine for him,” Roberts said. “And then where Shohei is at, we feel good about just leaving it status quo.”

Ohtani returned Saturday without restrictions in his designated hitter role — except one request from his manager, after a couple days of parsing whether a steal attempt that was snuffed out by a foul ball had contributed to Ohtani’s injury.

Though they didn’t find a clear cause for the injury, Roberts made it clear Saturday: “There will be no basestealing.”