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The Dodgers were sent yet another Shohei Ohtani curveball ahead of the All-Star Game, when Ohtani was removed from his scheduled start against the Diamondbacks for knee inflammation, forcing him out of the midsummer classic. With the second half of the season underway, Ohtani remains on the shelf as a starter, with an uncertain timeline for a return.
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The way manager Dave Roberts described it during his dugout media scrum before Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw a brilliant 102-pitch complete game over the Yankees was Shohei Ohtani could have kept pitching with his left knee irritation, though.
That suggests the Dodgers do not think it is a severe problem, and since they’re already the best team in the National League with a sizable divisional lead, they’ve got a good opportunity to let Ohtani heal while still batting and doing damage at the plate, including an RBI double during Yamamoto’s first career complete game.
If the Dodgers were in the Yankees situation, trying to catch a division leader in the Rays while also fending off the hard-charging Red Sox, they might feel more pressure to trade for an Ohtani backup plan in the rotation. Still, a trade isn’t entirely off the table, given the musical chairs at the position this season.
Ohtani leg injury prevents pitching
There is no clear-cut cause for Ohtani’s injury reported, and irritation is a vague term. Whatever is exactly going on was enough for the Dodgers to at the very least skip his next scheduled start Wednesday in Philadelphia, though it seems possible more starts will get skipped.
“I would say that it’s going to be some time,” Roberts said in a dugout media scrum at Yankee Stadium to several media members, including me. “It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing.”
And it definitely is more of a pitching thing since it involves how he lands after releasing a pitch.
“We just want to continue to give it the best chance to kind of get in a good spot,” Roberts said. “As he said, as we feel, it’s the pitching and the torque on landing on that leg. That kind of gets it upset. So I think that hitting doesn’t do that. So I think that for us, we’re trying to give it as much time as possible.”
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Ohtani Missed Starts Causes More Rotation Shuffling
Ohtani has yet to pitch a complete season since joining the Dodgers following the 2023 season. He did not pitch at all during 2024 due to an elbow injury and was limited to 14 starts because of the continued recovery from the elbow issue.
Until the knee issue cropped up and continued when Ohtani felt irritation playing catch despite getting a lubricant during the All-Star break, Ohtani was on track to pitch even more than last season. While he was limited to 47 innings in 14 starts in 2025, he was up to 85 2/3 innings and has a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts, though he is short of qualifying for the ERA title.
Most of Ohtani’s strong showing occurred in his first 10 starts when he held a 0.74 ERA. Since then, his ERA is 4.38, and he has allowed 25 hits in that span, prompting the Dodgers to act proactively.
“I think for us, it’s more like we’ve done many times over, erring on the side of caution,” Roberts explained. “A lot of it is where we’re at and how we 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 of this time in the season. So I think that we still have plenty of time to kind of get him in a good spot.”
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Ohtani’s knee issue may not be major, but nobody will know for sure until he appears on the mound for the Dodgers again.
It is also another pitching injury for the Dodgers, who, if you include openers, have used 17 starters in each of the past two seasons and are up to 11 pitchers starting a game this year.
For perspective, starters Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have combined for just eight starts and 42 2/3 innings this season.
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Snell pitched three innings before feeling loose bodies in his elbow and began a rehab stint that will probably last four to five starts. Glasnow made seven starts before feeling back pain and has only recently made bullpen sessions.
That means the Dodgers are operating with Justin Wrobleski as the No. 2 starter and hoping the 21 pitches thrown for triple digits on Friday by Roki Sasaki qualify him as their No. 3 starter behind Yamamoto in the interim.
Whether those are trusted names in a playoff game remains to be seen, though Wrobleski pitched five scoreless innings in four World Series games, and Sasaki posted a 0.84 ERA in nine postseason appearances and saved three of the 13 wins. So, it could be worse.
What are the Dodgers trade options
The Dodgers have some choices at the position if they want to block rivals or sure up their own starting rotation.
A month ago, Sonny Gray was a clear trade candidate since the Red Sox were 14 games under .500. Now, with the Red Sox on a 13-game winning streak, he obviously will not get traded.
The jury is still out on whether Detroit trades Tarik Skubal or if Minnesota deals Joe Ryan. Though with both teams still in the thick of the wild-card race, it might not happen.
It is certainly possible the Dodgers make offers, but then again, holding such a sizable lead and feeling confident that Ohtani will pitch again might not prompt them to deal prospects.
Another name who might become available is Reid Detmers with the Angels well under .500. Detmers has been a bright spot for a team jostling for the Royals in the race for the AL’s worst record and pitched well Friday.
Dodgers have acquired frontline starting pitchers in the past
Since Los Angeles began its streak of making the playoffs in 2013, the team has acquired five starters you might consider frontline.
- Jack Flaherty in 2024,
- Lance Lynn in 2023,
- Max Scherzer in 2021,
- Yu Darvish in 2017 and
- Ricky Nolasco in 2013.
Each provided differing degrees of postseason success, with the best being Flaherty, pitching 5 1/3 innings in Game 1 of the World Series and seven innings of two-hit ball against the Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS in 2024.
The most prominent prospects the Dodgers traded were Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray to the Nationals for Scherzer. While both have had their moments, the Dodgers survived losing both just like they withstood the rare “mistake” by dealing O’Neil Cruz and Yordan Alvarez, who blossomed into stars following their inclusion in minor trades.
What’s Next For Ohtani?
Ohtani was playing catch in the outfield in between games of Sunday’s doubleheader as the videoboard showed the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
A rainout and bullpen game allowed the Dodgers to push back their starters, giving them another day of rest.
Still, I do not expect to see him on the mound next weekend in New York against the Mets. If the irritation worsens, then the Dodgers could be forced to make a move.
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This story was originally published July 20, 2026 at 6:28 AM.