Shohei Ohtani was lined up to make his first pitching start after the All-Star break on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, but that will no longer happen due to continued left knee trouble.
It’s also not clear when the Los Angeles Dodgers will insert Ohtani back into their rotation.
“Don’t know yet, but kind of where we’re at right now, how we’re proceeding, I would say it’s going to be some time,” manager Dave Roberts said on SportsNet LA. “It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing. I think once we moved Emmet (Sheehan), the rotation can keep going forward without Shohei for the time being.
“Again, I can’t speak to how long that’s going to be.”
The Dodgers originally planned for Ohtani to have his left knee drained over the All-Star break. However, he was instead administered an Orthovisc injection, which provides pain relief and shock absorption, and is frequently used to treat osteoarthritis (commonly known as arthritis).
The Dodgers at this point don’t have a target date for Ohtani to return to the mound, but it’s safe to say he will miss at least a few turns while he waits for the injection to fully kick in.
“Honestly, I think part of it, a lot of it, is where we’re at. We’ve put ourselves in a good spot in the sense of, could he probably do it? Sure. But right now, the benefits don’t seem to outweigh the cost at this point in this season,” Roberts explained.
“I think we still have plenty of time to get him to a good spot to pitch.”
Ohtani last pitched on July 3, when he completed six innings against the San Diego Padres. There was talk of the two-way star potentially pitching in the 2026 MLB All-Star Game, but that never came to be and he wound up not making the trip to Philadelphia to receive treatment for his knee.
Ohtani is expected to remain in the lineup as the Dodgers’ designated hitter amid his knee discomfort.
Dodgers rotation plans without Shohei Ohtani
With Ohtani temporarily out of the rotation, the Dodgers will be relying on their depth to help weather the storm until he returns. The team utilized a bullpen game in the nightcap of their doubleheader against the Yankees on Sunday and Emmet Sheehan was pushed back to start in Monday’s opener with the Phillies.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and Eric Lauer will also continue making starts.
While their rotation is thin at the moment, the Dodgers are expecting to welcome back Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow before the end of the regular season. Snell began what’s expected to be a lengthy rehab assignment on Saturday, while Glasnow recently threw a fastball-only bullpen session and is waiting on his next steps.
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