Man, this is a gut punch for anyone who loves watching incredible baseball talent, because Shohei Ohtani, the two-way phenom who’s been absolutely lights out on the mound with a stunning 1.79 ERA, won’t be making his first scheduled start after the All-Star break. He was legitimately in both the MVP and Cy Young conversations, and now his pitching season just hit a major snag.
Dave Roberts’ Words Tell You Everything
This isn’t just some minor tweak; manager Dave Roberts didn’t mince words, telling us it’s “going to be some time” before we see Ohtani back pitching. He even stressed it’s “not going to be a day-to-day thing.” That hits hard, right? This isn’t just a bump in the road for Ohtani; it’s a significant setback for a guy who was absolutely dealing. The problem is in his left knee, his landing leg, and it’s serious enough that it already caused him to miss his final start before the break. He even got a lubricating shot in the knee during the break, but it clearly wasn’t enough. He’s missing at least one more start, and honestly, it looks like it’ll be more.
Playing the Long Game and What It Means for Fantasy
You’d think the Dodgers would be scrambling to get Ohtani back on the mound, but they’ve got some serious breathing room. With an 11.5-game lead in the NL West, they don’t have to push him. They also have enough off days over the next three weeks to keep their other starters on an every-sixth-day rotation, only needing five guys. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are on the IL right now, but Snell might be back by then. The bottom line is, the Dodgers are playing for October, and they’re going to be ultra-cautious with Ohtani, always. His two-way grind already puts him at a higher injury risk, so managing that comes with the territory. For those of us with Ohtani on our fantasy teams, this means he’s a hitter only for at least the next week, maybe longer. He’s still a must-start at the plate, obviously, but chasing that 50-homer mark for the third straight season? With 22 dingers already, hitting 40 for a fourth consecutive year might even be a stretch now. And forget about stolen bases. His ceiling as a hitter just took a hit.
It’s a huge bummer to see Ohtani limited like this, especially when he was absolutely dominating on both sides of the ball. But you gotta appreciate the Dodgers playing it safe. We all want him back on the mound, but seeing him crush dingers is better than seeing him sidelined completely. Here’s hoping he gets that knee right and we see him back doing both soon!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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