Shohei Ohtani threw a series of long tosses to the outfield before the Los Angeles Dodgers took on the Atlanta Braves on Friday, marking another step toward the two-way star’s return to the mound.

Could he play in the play-offs?

“Anything is possible,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I hope he thinks about that when it comes to motivation for his rehab. The chances of it happening are very small, but they’re not zero.”

Ohtani hasn’t pitched this season — his first with the Dodgers — after undergoing elbow surgery. Still, he’s having a potentially historic campaign as the team’s designated hitter, attempting to become the first player with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a major league season.

Opening a four-game series in Atlanta, Ohtani had 47 home runs and 48 stolen bases, putting him on pace to surpass 50 in both categories with 16 games remaining in the regular season.

In other injury news

While the first-place Dodgers are trying to remain optimistic and give Ohtani even more value this season, they suffered a setback in Tyler Glasnow’s recovery from elbow tendonitis.

Glasnow, a 9-6 right-handed pitcher with a 3.49 ERA, was scheduled to pitch in a simulated game Friday. But the session was cut short during his warmup in the bullpen when he began experiencing arm discomfort, raising concerns that his injury was more serious than initially thought.

Glasnow was placed on the 15-day injured list on August 16, which was considered more of a precautionary measure at the time.

“It’s obviously a setback,” Roberts said. “I don’t know what that means for the next few days. I just know we’re going to reassess it and see how it feels over the next few days and when we can pick it back up.”

The team is clearly concerned that Glasnow will not be able to pitch again this season, another setback for an injury-plagued rotation.

“It’s certainly not helpful and positive,” Roberts said.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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