The Dodgers don’t know when Shohei Ohtani will make his return to the pitching staff, after having an expected start last Sunday scuttled because of ongoing issues with his knee and biceps injuries.

However, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team is still aiming to have Ohtani pitch again this year, despite recent calls for the club to shut down the two-way star from pitching and have him focus solely on hitting instead.

“Obviously, it’s tricky navigating a build-up progression with someone who is also DH’ing by night,” Friedman told the California Post in an interview on Tuesday.

But, the veteran executive added, “he obviously wants to get back out there, helping the team on the mound as well.”

Ohtani has not made a pitching start for the Dodgers since July 3, having faced repeated setbacks and changes of plan while trying to recover from his dueling physical ailments.

The latest twist came last weekend, when the team backtracked on its tentative aim of having Ohtani make a one-inning start in Detroit on Sunday following a bullpen session in which he still didn’t feel 100%.

At that time, manager Dave Roberts painted an uncertain picture of Ohtani’s status as a pitcher –– saying that, while the team would of course like to have the superstar right-hander back on the mound in time for the playoffs, it would have to weigh the toll it might take on him as a hitter, especially amid Ohtani’s recent slump at the plate.

“His value offensively is hugely important,” Roberts noted. “So if throwing potentially cuts into that, that’s not worth the squeeze.”

Ohtani’s chances of getting built back up to make full-length starts in the playoffs were also likely dashed by having his return to the rotation delayed, with Roberts saying Tuesday that the four-time MVP is not expected to start a game for at least the next week.

“I do think that there’s going to be a conversation that needs to be had this week about what the outlook is,” Roberts said. “We haven’t had it yet.”

As of Tuesday, though, Friedman remained committed to keeping Ohtani’s pitching progression going, and was holding out hope of having the 32-year-old available to pitch in the playoffs even if it is in a more limited role.

“I think anything he can do is very additive and very helpful,” Friedman said.

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Friedman said Ohtani had initially “felt great” as he began his most recent ramp-up process last month, reporting no issues to the training staff after a couple bullpen sessions.

But then, in the wake of a 30-pitch live session against hitters on Aug. 22, Ohtani “felt it a little bit more –– which is to be expected,” Friedman acknowledged. “It was more like game-type soreness. So [the plan] was, ‘Let’s keep building up some tolerance to put us in the best chance to have the work stick and come back to stay back.’”

Thus, while the Dodgers still targeted last Sunday to potentially have Ohtani return to game action as a pitcher, they wanted him to throw another bullpen first.

And when he continued feeling discomfort after that Friday session –– which was notably shortened to just 20 pitches –– the team opted to hold off on Ohtani’s pitching comeback for now, deciding that following through on his Sunday start would have “just felt rushed to us,” as Friedman put it. 

“For us, it was, ‘Let’s take away the pressure of thinking you have to build up to X by this date,’ and more, ‘Let’s make sure we’re doing it in the most thoughtful way we can,’” Friedman said. “And whatever that equals at the end is awesome, and very additive. So we were synced up on that, and will continue to monitor his throwing this week and just read and react based on when we think it makes sense to throw him in a game.”

When asked if the Dodgers could reach a point where it would make more sense to simply shut Ohtani down from pitching, Friedman was non-committal.

He noted that the team has seen Ohtani effectively handle a full starter’s workload, while also providing impact production at the plate, in the past. He argued that the superstar’s pitching progression right now is considerably less taxing.

“Obviously, we wouldn’t do anything that would materially cut into his offense,” Friedman said. “That’s where communication with him is key, understanding how he’s feeling, how he’s recovering. And we don’t pretend to have the answers right now. It’s more read-and-react based on how he comes out of each session.”

The more Ohtani can pitch in the playoffs, Friedman added, the better.

“But we’re trying not to think about what it looks like at the end, and more treat each upcoming day of stuff the way we can,” he continued. “And then we can get to the end and think, ‘This is what he’s available for.’”

For now, what his availability might be remains unclear.