The Los Angeles Dodgers have adjusted their pitching rotation after two-way star Shohei Ohtani paused his mound duties due to lingering left knee irritation.
Ohtani received a lubricant injection before the All-Star break and was scheduled to start Wednesday against the Philadelphia Phillies.
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However, he felt discomfort while playing catch over the weekend, leading the team to hold him out of bullpen sessions.
The club moved Emmet Sheehan to start the series opener against Philadelphia's Cristopher Sánchez. Ohtani remains in the lineup as the leadoff designated hitter without restrictions.
“I would say that it’s going to be some time,” said manager Dave Roberts. He noted that the mechanics of hitting do not aggravate Ohtani's knee.
“It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing,” Roberts added.
Ohtani has been managing knee inflammation since mid-June, which led to a shortened outing against Pittsburgh on June 11 and his absence from the All-Star Game.
“We just want to continue to give it the best chance to kind of get in a good spot,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers are leveraging their strong divisional lead—11 1/2 games in the NL West—and upcoming schedule breaks to allow medical staff to treat the issue without rushing a return.
“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,” Roberts explained.
