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Shohei Ohtani revealed Tuesday that it’s not just his sore left knee keeping him from returning to the mound — there are additional factors at play, though specifics remain unclear. The Dodgers are still hopeful he’ll pitch again this season, but the timeline is muddied, per the LA Times. Manager Dave Roberts and the organization are weighing whether to push his return or take a more cautious approach.

This is a significant update because the prevailing assumption had been that Ohtani’s left knee was the sole obstacle standing between him and a return to pitching. Learning that there’s more to it than just the knee changes the calculus. Ohtani hasn’t pitched in a major league game since the 2023 season with the Angels, when he was electric before undergoing his second UCL surgery. The Dodgers signed him to his historic 10-year, $700 million deal with the understanding that 2024 would be DH-only while he recovered, and the original hope was that 2025 — and certainly 2026 — would see him back on the rubber as a two-way player. He made a handful of rehab starts earlier this year before the knee issue sidelined his pitching progression, and now this latest revelation adds another layer of uncertainty.

As a hitter, Ohtani has continued to be one of the most dangerous bats in baseball. That part hasn’t been in question. But the Dodgers didn’t commit $700 million just for a designated hitter, no matter how elite. The pitching component is what makes the contract make sense long-term, and every delay in getting him back on the mound matters — both for this season’s rotation and for the bigger picture of the deal.

Roberts’ quote — “Do we consider pushing this?” — tells you the internal conversation is real. The Dodgers are in the thick of a pennant race, and adding a pitcher of Ohtani’s caliber to a rotation that already features significant talent would be a massive boost, arguably more impactful than any trade deadline acquisition they could make. But if there are issues beyond the knee — whether it’s arm-related, mechanical, or something else entirely — pushing it could create bigger problems down the line.

I think the Dodgers are going to be conservative here, even if that’s not what any of us want to hear. This front office has shown repeatedly that they think in terms of October, not July. If Ohtani can pitch in September and be built up enough to contribute in the postseason, that’s the real target. But the fact that the team is being vague about what else is going on beyond the knee is (and this one bears watching) the kind of thing that can quietly become a bigger story. We should know more in the coming weeks, but for now, the two-way Ohtani experience remains on hold.

Source(s): Staff (LA Times) | First reported: July 29, 2026 2:55 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers