Shohei Ohtani is not pitching this week. Or possibly for a while. The Dodgers superstar has a left knee issue that has scratched his next scheduled start and clouded his return to the mound.
Manager Dave Roberts spoke about the injury, saying the team wants Ohtani’s knee to fully heal before he pitches again. The Dodgers do expect him to return to pitching at some point in 2026, but the when is unclear. That’s not what a first-place team wants to hear two weeks before the trade deadline.
What We Know
Ohtani has been doing double duty this year as both a starting pitcher and the Dodgers’ primary DH. The pitching workload was always going to be managed carefully after he underwent multiple elbow surgeries in the past. His return in 2025 was gradual and structured to protect the elbow.
The knee injury is a new complication. It’s on his left side, which is his push-off leg for pitching. That’s the leg that generates a huge amount of the torque and power in his delivery. If it’s not right, pitching is not just a question of pain tolerance. It’s a question of mechanics and injury risk.
What This Means at the Plate
The good news is Ohtani is still expected to be in the lineup as the DH. His bat is not going anywhere. He’s still one of the best hitters on the planet, and the Dodgers need every ounce of his production if they want to hold off the National League field.
The bad news is the Dodgers were building rotation plans around Ohtani starting every fifth or sixth day. Now those plans are on hold. Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow have to carry more of the load. Bobby Miller is going to have to be reliable.
The Skubal Question Just Got Louder
Every time a Dodgers starter goes down, the Tarik Skubal trade rumors get louder. And they were already loud.
Skubal is available and Detroit has an 85% chance of moving him at the deadline, per multiple reports. The Dodgers have the prospects to make it happen. They can offer a package of outfielders and pitchers that Detroit would find hard to say no to.
Interestingly, reports say Ohtani’s injury has not increased LA’s urgency on Skubal. That’s because the Dodgers are always aggressive at the deadline, and they were already going to make a big move. Skubal remains one of the top targets, but so do bullpen arms and possibly another bat.
Managing a Championship Team
Dave Roberts has to walk a tightrope. Push Ohtani too hard and risk another serious injury. Rest him too much and lose games in a crowded National League. The Dodgers have a comfortable lead in the West, but comfortable is relative in July.
The Padres, the Giants, and even the Diamondbacks are all playing well. If Ohtani is out for even three weeks, that lead can shrink.
What to Watch
The Dodgers will be careful about giving specifics on Ohtani’s rehab. Watch for signs that he’s throwing off flat ground, then a mound, then in a bullpen session, then a simulated game. That’s the progression back to a real start. Without those markers, the return is not imminent.
Ohtani has come back from worse. He’ll come back from this too. The question is whether he’s able to help the Dodgers on the mound during the stretch run, or if his season becomes DH-only. Either way, LA still has the best team in baseball. Just with an asterisk.
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.
