Dave Roberts sheds light on Shohei Ohtani's postseason bullpen potential

A few hours later, in the visitors' dugout inside Coors Field, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts put some clarity on what could happen with Ohtani when October arrives.

"Internally, just kind of exploring options," Roberts said. "I think it's just all contingent on how we are and where we're at with the starting pitching, as well as where he's at because it's still a different role as far as usage versus once a week (as a starter).

"There are still a lot of things that we got to get to before it even becomes somewhat tangible."

The Los Angeles rotation has become more stable in recent days with the return of Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. After trying to piece together a rotation during the height of the team's injuries at the position, the return of two of the top names in the rotation has alleviated concerns in L.A.

With the postseason schedule and needing a shorter rotation, the possibility of Ohtani coming in out of the bullpen is just that at the moment ... a possibility that is being discussed, Roberts said, adding Ohtani's biggest value at the moment on the mound comes from starting.

"Right now, I think for me, I see him as a starter," Roberts said. "Being able to take down the first five or six innings of a game probably gives us the best chance to win a ball game."

Any kind of move to the bullpen would also need some time to allow Ohtani to adjust to the role, Roberts added.

"I don't think a week would suffice," Roberts said. "I don't think a week would be enough."

For the Dodgers to take Ohtani out of the rotation for an extended period when he entered Wednesday's start in Colorado with a 3.47 ERA in his first nine starts covering 23.1 innings seems like a chance that Roberts wouldn't be willing to take at a time when the rotation appears to be flourishing.

"Things have certainly stabilized on the starting pitching side of things. That certainly gives us options," Roberts said. "Like I said a couple of weeks ago, I think we're going to go as far as our starting pitching takes us, so to have guys in line throwing the baseball well, I feel good about it."

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.