Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani is done pitching for the unofficial first half of the season.
He did not make his scheduled start Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks and he will not participate in the All-Star Game next week.
“The goal is to be able to throw according to regular schedule [in the second half],” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after the Dodgers’ 9-3 loss to the Diamondbacks. “Although I could’ve started [Friday], it would’ve still been pushing the envelope a little bit. But my every intention is to use the off-days to make sure I’m in a good place to be able to be in the rotation.”
Ohtani will still serve as the designated hitter through the weekend series. But the irritation in his left knee, which is aggravated by pitching, continues to be a problem. After Sunday’s game he’s scheduled to have his left knee drained. He also likely will receive an injection, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
Those interventions will include draining his left knee, as manager Dave Roberts confirmed before the game Friday, and likely an injection, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Because the problem lingered, the break presented an opportunity to address it before the second half. This knee injury is not believed to necessarily be connected to the bipartite patella condition that Ohtani addressed with surgery in 2019.
“The goal is October, for all of our players,” Roberts said. “He’s had the Cy Young in mind, and understandably so. But nothing is going to come in front of being healthy for October. And so for him to concede and miss a start for the best interest of him and you know the team, that’s not a surprise. And so, those are two separate things. But No. 1 [is] being ready for October, and he’s always kind of said that.”
The decision doesn’t automatically remove him from the Cy Young conversation, but his workload, lessened by the six-man rotation, was already the biggest adjustment to his campaign.
Roberts said he doesn’t expect Ohtani to miss any time coming out of the All-Star break, penciling him in as the designated hitter against the Yankees on July 17.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hits a leadoff home run during a 9-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“It’s not going to change anything for the second half as far as pitching,” Roberts said. “I’m not sure where he’s going to be slotted in after the break. So that’s something that we’re going to talk through. We have plenty of time to talk through that.
“But that’s more opponent-driven and all that stuff, looking out, what makes sense. So I can’t answer that right now. But as far as overarching, I don’t think it affects the second-half pitching.”
The Dodgers’ decision to scratch Ohtani’s start was made easier knowing they could pivot to a bullpen game with their relievers rested following an off day.
“I had a pretty long discussion over the phone [Thursday] and made the decision not to start,” Ohtani said. “But I know that also means that’s a lot of pressure on the bullpen, so I’m not exactly thrilled in that sense.”
In Ohtani’s first at-bat Friday, he launched his eighth leadoff homer of the season — tied with Nationals outfielder James Wood for the most in the majors — into the left-field stands.
Ohtani, who has a .943 OPS, the third-best mark among qualified NL hitters, and a 1.79 ERA, the second-best mark among NL pitchers with 50-plus innings pitched, has been dealing with irritation in his knee for roughly a month.
He exited the June 11 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with inflammation in his left knee and sat out the next day. But he’s played through the problem since. Friday marked the first time Ohtani has missed a pitching start this season for the knee injury.
Ohtani said then that he suspected problems with his pitching mechanics were to blame for the discomfort in his knee. He did not say whether he believed his previous kneecap condition was a factor.
“I have to kind of find a way to adjust my mechanics so that my knee doesn’t get affected,” he said.
Though this is the first time Ohtani has skipped a pitching start, the Dodgers did push back his last start on the mound by two days. Originally scheduled to pitch in Sacramento on July 1, the Dodgers cited rest for the two-way player in the midst of 13 straight days on the team’s schedule without an off day.
Ohtani then held the Padres to three runs in six innings on July 3, throwing 110 pitches. In his next at-bat, he felt tightness in his right biceps, putting his next start into question.
His biceps ailment, however, quickly resolved with a day off. Roberts said it didn’t bother Ohtani throwing over the next week.
Still, with the change in rotation schedule, and Ohtani back to full-time two-way duties for the first time since 2023, he wasn’t expected to pitch in the All-Star Game or participate in the home run derby even before Friday’s news.
His new plans to address the irritation in his knee wiped out the couple All-Star at-bats he was penciled in for as the starting designated hitter for the National League squad. Immediately after the procedure, Dodgers wanted to avoid the added swelling that comes with air travel.
Ohtani claimed his sixth consecutive All-Star selection with the most Phase 1 fan votes of any player.
