The Dodgers confirmed the worst-kept secret in baseball this weekend: Shohei Ohtani is banged up, and it's serious enough to sideline the sport's biggest attraction from its midsummer showcase. Ohtani will miss his next scheduled pitching start and won't travel to Philadelphia for the All-Star Game because of left knee irritation, according to reporting that broke Friday.
Shohei Ohtani To Miss Start, Skip All-Star Game Due To Left Knee Issue t.co/kM42TtvSHk
This isn't some brand-new issue. Ohtani has been managing knee discomfort since he was pulled from a game back on June 11, and the knee itself has history — he had surgery on it all the way back in 2019. Per MLB.com, the plan is for him to have the knee drained and continue serving strictly as a DH through the weekend series against the Diamondbacks, with the hope of being back in the lineup for the Dodgers' first game after the break at Yankee Stadium. Dave Roberts even admitted Ohtani would probably be gutting through this if it were October instead of July — but there's no reason to risk it in the middle of summer.
So naturally, the same day all this dropped, Ohtani stepped in as the leadoff hitter and did what he does. He crushed his 21st home run of the season, a leadoff shot that reportedly tied him for the most in the majors at that spot, then jogged the bases a little gingerly to remind everyone why the Dodgers are letting him DH his way through soreness instead of forcing him to hit the injured list.
Shohei Ohtani isn't feeling great but hit his 21st home run of the season anyway!
It's the perfect encapsulation of Ohtani's whole deal at this point in his career — even compromised, he's still doing things nobody else in the sport can do. Losing him from the All-Star festivities is a bummer for a game that's been starving for star power, and it's a real dent to a Home Run Derby or two-way showcase moment fans were hoping for. But for the Dodgers, protecting the knee now over one exhibition game is an easy call with a pennant race and a postseason still in front of them.
For fantasy managers and prop bettors, this is the update that actually matters. Ohtani skipping a pitching start is a real fantasy hit if you roster him as a two-way asset, but the fact he's still raking as a hitter — 21 homers deep and unbothered at the plate — means the offensive production isn't going anywhere. The bigger story to track is whether the knee behaves well enough for him to resume pitching on schedule after the break, or whether this turns into a longer slow play. Either way, expect updates out of Dodger Stadium and then Yankee Stadium once the second half kicks off.