Shohei Ohtani was held out of the Dodgers’ lineup on Friday, but the team does not view the left knee inflammation that forced him out of a game in Pittsburgh as an injured list situation.
Manager Dave Roberts said the move was simply an extra day of rest, and he expected Ohtani to be available again soon. “Just to give him an extra day, and my hope is that he’s in there tomorrow. But if not, he’ll need another day,” Roberts said.
Dodgers see normal wear and tear
Roberts said Ohtani was “doing fine today” and that, if the game had been more important in the standings, he likely could have played. The Dodgers had imaging done, and Roberts said there were “no findings” beyond what he described as the normal wear and tear of a long season.
He added that the knee simply became irritated and swelled a bit, and the club believes it can manage the issue without a trip to the IL. “It’s something that I think that we can manage, not an IL situation,” Roberts said.
What the team knows about the injury
Roberts said there was no specific event that caused the discomfort, though Ohtani had originally thought it might be a hamstring issue. The swelling is in the back of the knee, where Ohtani said he felt soreness, and Roberts said his range of motion was good.
The knee was operated on in 2019 when Ohtani played for the Angels, but the Dodgers did not indicate that this latest issue is tied to anything more serious. Roberts said the team expects the discomfort to be temporary.
Pitching plan still points to Wednesday
Even with the lineup absence, Ohtani remains slated to make his next start on the mound Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays in Los Angeles. Roberts said the expectation is still for Ohtani to take the ball unless something changes.
Ohtani’s absence matters because he has been one of the most productive players in the league on both sides of the ball. He is batting .305 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs, leads the NL with a .421 on-base percentage, and is 6-2 with a 1.06 ERA on the mound, though he is 1⅓ innings short of qualifying for the ERA lead.
Those numbers have put him in position for a fourth straight MVP award and possibly his first Cy Young award. For the defending two-time champions, keeping that kind of production available is the priority, even if Friday becomes only a brief pause.