NEW YORK -- Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani will not make his scheduled pitching start on Wednesday in Philadelphia, manager Dave Roberts said Sunday, and could miss additional starts on the mound in order to address the soreness in his left knee that has lingered for more than a month.
The Dodgers expect Ohtani to pitch again this season, but they are backing off on the pitching side for now to give his knee more time to heal.
"Where we're at right now, how we're proceeding, I would say that it's going to be some time," Roberts said. "I'd say that it's not going to be a day-to-day thing."
Ohtani's knee first flared up during the Dodgers' June 11 game in Pittsburgh. Afterward, he primarily felt the lingering soreness while pitching, not hitting, and continued to make his weekly starts on the mound until he was scratched from his final pitching appearance of the first half on July 10. He received a lubricating Orthovisc shot in his knee during the All-Star break, which forced him to miss the Midsummer Classic.
The Dodgers were hopeful that treatment, plus four days of rest, would allow Ohtani to return to his regular two-way duties, but they acknowledged that his pitching outlook would be contingent on how his knee was feeling.
While playing catch this weekend in New York, Ohtani still felt some discomfort, leading the Dodgers to rule him out for Wednesday, and possibly longer. With L.A. holding a comfortable lead in the NL West, as well as the best record in the Majors, the team sees no reason to compromise Ohtani's long-term health for potential short-term gains.
“Honestly, a lot of it is where we’re at and how we’ve put ourselves in a good spot," Roberts said. "Could he probably do it? Sure. But right now, the benefits just [don't] seem to outweigh the cost at this time of the season. So I think we still have plenty of time to get him to a good spot to then pitch.”
Here's a breakdown of what Ohtani's indefinite absence from the rotation means for the Dodgers:
Will Ohtani miss games as a hitter because of his knee?
The left knee is Ohtani's back knee while he's hitting and his land knee while he's pitching, so it doesn't bother him as a hitter. The Dodgers don't see a reason to leave him out of the lineup at this time. Ohtani has been working with the pitching coaches to modify his delivery to reduce the torque he feels on his left knee, but there's no way to get rid of that impact altogether.
How will the Dodgers fill Ohtani's spot in the rotation?
Running a six-man rotation has been key for the Dodgers, but they're at the limits of their 40-man starting-pitching depth. They have at least one team off-day in each of the next three weeks, which should allow their five starters to continue working on extra rest. Once that span is over, Blake Snell should be close to returning from the injured list after being sidelined since his mid-May surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow.
Will the Dodgers expedite Snell's rehab to fill Ohtani's spot?
Snell began his rehab assignment on Saturday, throwing 1 1/3 innings on 32 pitches with Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers like to stretch out their rehabbing starters to the five-inning, 75-pitch range, and they won't cut any corners with Snell, who likely has three more rehab starts ahead of him to get there. Earlier this season, the Dodgers returned Snell (who also began the season on the IL with left shoulder fatigue) from his rehab assignment one start early, and he made only one start before the loose-bodies issue flared up.
Does this create a need for the Dodgers to acquire starting pitching?
Possibly, but that also depends on the outlook for Snell and Tyler Glasnow, who has been on the IL since May due to lower back spasms. With Ohtani included, that means three of the Dodgers' four projected postseason rotation members are dealing with health issues. Glasnow is on the mend as well, but weeks behind Snell in his rehab progression. The Dodgers still may not need to pursue adding a frontline-starter type ahead of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, but the need for additional depth, at the very least, is bigger than it was before the All-Star break.