The Dodgers head into the All-Star break with some good injury news for once. Multiple pieces are working their way back, and the roster picture looks a lot less banged-up than it did a month ago. But the one name that still has an asterisk next to it is the biggest one on the team.
MLB Trade Rumors flagged the mixed bag: Dodgers getting healthier overall, but Ohtani's knee still a question mark.
Ohtani has been dealing with left knee irritation for over a month now, dating back to a start against the Pirates in June that got cut short because of inflammation. It flared up again enough that he was scratched from his last scheduled start of the first half against Arizona and pulled out of the All-Star Game entirely, per ESPN and MLB.com. He's still expected to DH through the weekend series with the Diamondbacks, so this isn't a full shutdown -- it's a targeted maintenance plan.
The break is being used on purpose here. Ohtani had his knee drained over the weekend and is set to get an injection, giving him 4 full days before the Dodgers open the second half against the Yankees on July 17. No surgery is planned, and Dave Roberts has said he doesn't expect the procedure to affect Ohtani's ability to pitch once play resumes -- he just isn't sure yet exactly when Ohtani slots back into the rotation.
That's the key distinction for anyone trying to figure out what this means: this reads as in-season load management on a chronic irritation, not a structural knee issue that threatens the two-way workload. Still, for a guy who's both the best hitter on the planet and a full-time starting pitcher, any knee news moves markets -- fantasy lineups, prop bets, and Dodgers fans' blood pressure all included. The team getting healthier around him only matters if the guy who moves the needle most is actually right.
Roberts has pegged Ohtani to be back in the lineup for that Yankee Stadium opener after the break, but the pitching return is the bigger question mark. Expect the Dodgers to be cautious with the schedule and workload the rest of July -- this is a team that's been burned before by rushing him back, and with a healthier roster around him for the first time in a while, there's no reason to force it.