Knee and biceps issues have prevented the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani from pitching since July 3, and a return to the mound is not imminent. The Dodgers hoped to start Ohtani against the Tigers on Sunday, but they have scrapped those plans after he came out of Friday’s bullpen session feeling discomfort in his knee, Alden González of ESPN reports.
“If any pitcher was feeling like this, we wouldn’t run him out there,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday.
Ohtani’s bullpen session included 20 pitches, which González notes is 10 to 15 fewer than his usual routine between starts. Roberts revealed on Saturday that Ohtani is not 100%, saying his “overall body” is sore and adding: “His value offensively is hugely important, and so we can’t compromise that in any fashion. If throwing potentially cuts into that, that’s not worth the squeeze.”
Ohtani would have only pitched one inning had he started on Sunday. Righty Tyler Glasnow, who just returned this week after missing three-plus months with a back injury, would have followed Ohtani. Glasnow will instead get the start in Ohtani’s place.
The NL West-leading Dodgers planned to gradually stretch Ohtani out over a handful of starts before the postseason, but it is possible the two-way superstar will not take the mound again this year. The Dodgers have not made a decision on that yet, according to González. They want to see how Ohtani feels when they return to Los Angeles during the upcoming week. They will begin a series against the Cardinals on Tuesday, but Ohtani will not pitch in that game either, Katie Woo of The Athletic relays.
Ohtani, who made a brilliant return to pitching last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery as an Angel in 2023, has been stellar again this season. The flamethrowing right-hander has put up a microscopic 1.79 ERA with a 27.9% strikeout rate, a 7.6% walk rate and a 51.2% ground-ball mark in 85 2/3 innings. That’s elite-level production, but the Dodgers’ staff is so deep that they may be able to get by without him in their attempt to become the first NL team to win three straight World Series.
The Dodgers acquired back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from the Tigers before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Skubal is now at the front of a rotation that also includes Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Eric Lauer. They also have several injured pitchers – including Justin Wrobleski, Roki Sasaki, Kris Bubic, Edwin Díaz and Blake Treinen – trending toward returning in September.
While the Dodgers may have enough to survive without Ohtani the pitcher, they need Ohtani the hitter. The four-time MVP has not been as otherworldly as he was from 2023-25, but he remains one of the game’s fiercest sluggers. Ohtani has slashed .283/.383/.535 (146 wRC+) with 30 homers, 80 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 577 plate appearances. The 32-year-old has accounted for 4.0 fWAR as an offensive player in 2026, but he may not be able to build on the 2.9 fWAR he has racked up on the mound.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin, Oncea-Imagn Images
