Shohei Ohtani will undergo a procedure to drain fluid from his left knee on Sunday, ruling the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar out of next week's All-Star Game in Philadelphia and ending his pitching duties for the current series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team announced the decision on Friday, framing it as a precautionary measure ahead of a second half in which Los Angeles will be pushing for an unprecedented three consecutive World Series titles. Ohtani remains in the lineup as designated hitter in the meantime, his bat unaffected even as his mound work suffers.
The knee has been an issue since at least June 11, when a start against Pittsburgh was cut short, and irritation has persisted through a stretch that has seen Ohtani's pitching performances slide across his last four outings. That timeline matters: the same knee was surgically repaired in September 2019 for a congenital condition known as bipartite patella, meaning there is documented structural history to manage carefully. The procedure on Sunday will include a cortisone shot alongside the draining of fluid, and Ohtani himself said his focus is on using the All-Star break to return to the rotation in proper shape. Across the sport, the challenge of protecting elite multi-dimensional athletes is a recurring editorial theme - not unlike how European clubs navigate the fitness of versatile young talents; the lyon julien duranville situation illustrates the kind of careful asset management clubs across disciplines must practice when dealing with players who carry outsized value and physical demands.
Manager Dave Roberts was measured and deliberate in his messaging to reporters. He drew a clear line between an early-July start and an October playoff game, making the case that protecting Ohtani's availability for the postseason was the only logical priority. Roberts confirmed that the Dodgers do not expect the procedure to affect Ohtani's availability as a pitcher in the second half, though the club has yet to decide where he will slot back into a six-man rotation once play resumes after the break. Los Angeles opens a road trip against the New York Yankees next Friday, and Roberts indicated he expects Ohtani to be in the lineup by then - as a hitter, at minimum.
The Bat Has Not Blinked
Whatever the knee has done to Ohtani's mechanics on the mound, it has done nothing to his swing. He skipped his scheduled Friday start against Arizona, with the Dodgers running a bullpen game in his place, but still led off the contest with a 381-foot home run - a detail that tells its own story about where the discomfort actually lives in his body. Earlier in the week, against Colorado, Ohtani hit his 300th career home run, becoming the first Japanese-born player in Major League Baseball history to reach that milestone. He turned 32 the same week. The offensive markers keep arriving even as the pitching situation demands careful navigation.
Stakes for a Team Chasing History
The backdrop to all of this is significant. The Dodgers sit at 61-34, the best record in baseball, and are attempting to become the first franchise to win three consecutive World Series titles since the New York Yankees claimed the feat across 1998, 1999 and 2000. In that context, Roberts' framing of the knee procedure as staying ahead of a problem rather than reacting to a crisis is not just spin - it is the only viable managerial philosophy for a club with championship ambitions this deep into a title defense. Ohtani is not just one piece of that pursuit. As a four-time MVP who hits and pitches at an elite level, his fitness profile shapes how the entire rotation is constructed and how the lineup is protected in critical moments. The Dodgers cannot afford to mishandle this. Sunday's procedure, modest as it sounds, is a decision weighted by everything October represents.
