Shohei Ohtani took an encouraging step Wednesday in his recovery from a lingering left knee injury, throwing a bullpen session before the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the Philadelphia Phillies.

It was the first time Ohtani had thrown off a mound in two weeks and his first bullpen session since receiving a lubricant injection in his knee during the All-Star break. He threw 31 pitches using his full mix.

"It’s a big sign," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Pitching coach Mark Prior added, "It went great."

Prior and assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness observed the session alongside interpreter Will Ireton. They described it as a normal bullpen session, similar to what Ohtani would typically do between starts.

Ohtani has been dealing with inflammation and irritation in his knee, the same one he had surgery on in 2019. The issue flared up in mid-June, and he missed his past two scheduled pitching starts. Ohtani last pitched on July 3.

Roberts indicated that the team will see how Ohtani feels in the coming days before deciding on his next pitching steps. The manager stated that Ohtani would not return to the rotation during the current road trip, which concludes with a series against the New York Mets.

"Once he started playing catch, [the plan] was to see how he felt over the three or four day," Prior said. "If everything felt good, he was going to throw a bullpen today."

Roberts believes Ohtani's absence from the rotation might be short, rather than a long-term break requiring him to rebuild stamina. "I still think it hasn’t been so long that the equity that he’s built up with the pitch count is that compromised," Roberts said. "But with that, I can’t foresee him running out there and throwing 100 pitches his first outing."

Ohtani had not been as sharp in the four starts he made while pitching through his knee injury, posting a 4.38 ERA compared to his 0.74 ERA earlier in the season. The Dodgers are assessing whether the dip in performance was due to his knee or other mechanical issues.

"I think his delivery got off a little bit, which kind of affected some things," Prior said. "But at the end of the day, when he gets his delivery right, his execution of his pitches, he’s at a much higher efficiency. I think that’s the goal."

Ohtani reported to the training staff that his knee "feels good" following his All-Star break treatment. "We all believe that you don’t know more than the player," Roberts said. "He knows his body so well. So if he feels he’s ready to get off a mound, then we support it. I think for us it’s more not trying to force him or push him."