Shohei Ohtani is hurt, and it is more serious than the Dodgers wanted to admit for a while.
Los Angeles announced early Friday that Ohtani would miss his scheduled pitching start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. They also confirmed he will not travel to Philadelphia for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game. The team is calling it “continued irritation in his left knee.”
Ohtani still played Friday’s 9-3 loss to the Diamondbacks as the DH. He homered off Diamondbacks ace Eduardo Rodriguez three pitches into the game. That was his 21st of the year. Then he told reporters after the game that this knee is a real problem.
“It affects more of my pitching rather than the hitting side of the game,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “Although I could’ve started today, it would’ve still been pushing the envelope a little bit.”
Ohtani said his goal is to be able to throw on his normal schedule when the season resumes after the All-Star break. He also said he may need to tweak his mechanics to protect the knee going forward. That is the concerning part.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reported that Ohtani’s “interventions” include having the left knee drained and potentially getting an injection. That is stuff you can do in a couple days. But when a two-way player starts talking about changing his mechanics, everybody pays attention.
Ohtani rebuilt his throwing motion after his Tommy John rehab. He does not need another mechanical overhaul mid-season. The Dodgers are trying to win the World Series and they need him on the mound in October.
Los Angeles has been carrying this pitching staff with tape and prayer for stretches this year. Ohtani was supposed to be a stabilizer once he came back to the mound. If he cannot land at 100 percent, Andrew Friedman has some work to do before the Aug. 3 deadline.
The good news for the Dodgers is that Ohtani’s bat is not the concern. Twenty-one home runs and a knee that hurts is still better than most everyday hitters healthy. The bad news is that the whole point of paying Ohtani $700 million was getting two Ohtanis. Right now they have one.
Missing the All-Star Game is not a big deal from a competitive standpoint. Missing it as a signal that the Dodgers are worried about the second half is another matter. Watch this space.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
