When the postseason begins, Shohei Ohtani could be more than an opener.

He could be a full-fledged beginning pitcher.

“In theory, yes,” supervisor Dave Roberts said.

Imagine: Ohtani pitching for the Dodgers in the World Series. 

Only this time, he wins. 

Only this time, he has a signature Fall Classic second on the mound.

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It’s now potential.

A newly divulged timeline for Ohtani’s pitching comeback could be a game-changer for the Dodgers, who were bracing themselves for the risk that the two-way participant wouldn’t be in a position to pitch more than an inning or two a recreation in October. Roberts beforehand said whatever extra innings Ohtani could present this season would be “bonuses.”

Shohei Ohtani took a step ahead by throwing dwell batting apply Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Getty Images

The change in Ohtani’s pitching outlook was a welcome growth when the uncertainties over the offense and bullpen intensified because of accidents to middle fielder Andy Pages and nearer Edwin Diaz. 

Pages will miss 4 to 5 weeks as he recovers from a minor operation to restore a damaged left hand. The slumping Diaz was positioned on the 15-day injured record with what was described by the Dodgers as neck irritation.

Ohtani reported no issues after throwing 30 pitches to Will Smith in a simulated recreation on Saturday and that set him up to throw a bullpen session over the next few days. Roberts said relying on how Ohtani comes out of that, he could throw in either another simulated recreation or an precise recreation.

That recreation could be on Sunday in Detroit, where the Dodgers will conclude their upcoming two-city, six-game journey.

Regardless of whether Ohtani makes that begin or delays his return by another week, he will be in place to begin 4 or 5 video games before the finish of the common season.

The expectation is for Ohtani to pitch one inning in his first recreation, just as he did last yr when he returned from his second Tommy John surgical procedure. His buildup last season was extraordinarily deliberate, as he pitched an inning in each of his first two video games and two innings in each of the two after that.

“I would say it would be a little more aggressive,” Roberts said.

That being the case, Roberts said Ohtani could be sufficiently stretched out to pitch five-plus innings by the begin of the playoffs. This will be a notably motivated model of Ohtani, who should be trying to make up for a postseason last yr in which he was underwhelming on the mound outside of his well-known three-homer, 10-strikeout recreation against the Brewers in the National League Championship Series.

The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to return to the mound sooner than expected. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

That could be important for the rotation, as the Dodgers could have to rely on the vaunted group even more than they anticipated. 

In Pages, the Dodgers lost not only a first-rate defender at a premium place but also their co-leader in RBIs. An offense that has bother scoring against postseason-caliber groups will be further compromised, particularly if Pages misses the the rest of the common season and doesn’t have a likelihood to rediscover an offensive rhythm. Maintaining low-scoring environments could be paramount for the Dodgers.

Can Diaz assist with that? The $69 million nearer was already pitching his means out of his customary ninth-inning function when he harm his neck. If he continues performing the means he did before touchdown on the injured record, he won’t make the staff’s playoff roster.

But Ohtani’s return to the mound will also profit the bullpen. The Dodgers are expected to subject a four-man rotation in the postseason, with Ohtani following Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell. That would allow them to transfer Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki into the bullpen.

Glasnow, who has missed more than three months because of back issues, is scheduled to pitch on Tuesday against the Braves in Atlanta. Sasaki is second on the staff to Yamamoto in video games began with 22, but he was the staff’s nearer in the playoffs last yr and is expected to be deployed as a reliever again this October.

But with home-field benefit in the postseason to be decided over the remaining 5 weeks of the common season, the Dodgers can’t take away Sasaki from the rotation just yet. Also, with Glasnow and Ohtani still in the preliminary phases of their comebacks, there stays a likelihood that Sasaki could be wanted to begin video games in the playoffs.

That complicates Sasaki’s transition to the bullpen, notably if the Dodgers intend to use him in high-leverage conditions. Last yr, Sasaki ready for his postseason function by pitching two video games as a reliever in the remaining week of the common season.

“I don’t want to start talking about Roki in the bullpen right now,” Roberts said. “I don’t want to do that.”

Uncomfortable selections will have to be made in the coming weeks. Roberts knows that. But the scenario feels more manageable than it did a couple of days in the past, if only because of one easy reality.

Ohtani could be beginning video games and taking down innings in October.