Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has officially ruled out the chance that Shohei Ohtani could return to the mound this postseason.

Roberts said Thursday "there is no possibility" that Ohtani will pitch against the New York Yankees in the World Series, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

Ohtani has not pitched since undergoing elbow surgery last September, but Roberts said last month there was a "possibility" he would pitch during the postseason.

The World Series begins on Friday night in Los Angeles. The Game 1 first pitch is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET.

Jack Flaherty will take the mound for Game 1, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto is slated to get the start in Saturday's Game 2.

Being limited to designated hitting did not stop Ohtani from playing a key role in helping the Dodgers eliminate the New York Mets in six games to win the NLCS.

He finished the series batting .364 with a 1.184 OPS, with two home runs and nine walks, and six RBIs including one in the pennant-clinching Game 6.

After taking on the Yankees, Roberts' next task will be to decide whether Ohtani is still on track to make his debut in the Dodgers rotation in 2025.

Ohtani resumed throwing practice in March, and had hit 85 percent intensity by August, per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.

Dodgers leadership then met with Ohtani in late September to discuss whether he would face live batting practice in October, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

Friedman told Harris an earlier return to live BP would set up Ohtani "better to ramp up in February," but that the Dodgers needed to find a way for him to continue his rehab without "any negative repercussions this October."

The Dodgers are starting the 2025 season with a series against the Chicago Cubs in Japan, but making sure Ohtani gets to take the mound in his home country is certainly less important to the Dodgers than keeping him healthy with a shot at the title on the line.

All eyes now turn to Flaherty, who is looking to bounce back from his struggles in Game 5 of the NLCS by powering the Dodgers to a win on Friday.