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The Dodgers’ blockbuster acquisition of Tarik Skubal before the trade deadline didn’t change the team’s approach to Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching future this season, per Dodger Blue. Ohtani continues to deal with left knee discomfort that has limited his two-way status, and a return to the mound does not appear to be on the near-term horizon. The key takeaway here: the front office wasn’t counting on Ohtani pitching even before the Skubal deal came together.

That distinction matters. There’s been a natural assumption among fans that acquiring Skubal was, at least in part, a response to the uncertainty around Ohtani’s pitching availability. And while the trade obviously provides rotation depth that makes any Ohtani absence easier to absorb, the organization is saying the two decisions were independent of each other. They weren’t banking on Ohtani pitching this year before the trade, and they’re not banking on it now.

Ohtani’s left knee discomfort has been a lingering storyline throughout this stretch of the season. He returned to the mound in 2025 after his UCL reconstruction, and while the elbow has held up, the knee issue has complicated the two-way equation. As a hitter, he remains one of the most dangerous bats in baseball — his ability to impact the lineup on a daily basis is not in question. But the pitching side has become a matter of caution rather than urgency, and the Dodgers seem content to let it play out without forcing anything.

Skubal, meanwhile, gives the rotation a legitimate front-of-the-rotation arm that the Dodgers desperately needed. He was one of the best pitchers in the American League before the trade, having established himself as a true ace with Detroit. His presence alongside the eventual returns of Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow gives the Dodgers a path to a healthy, deep rotation down the stretch — one that doesn’t require Ohtani to take the ball every fifth day.

For our purposes, this is the smart play. Ohtani’s long-term health as a two-way player is far more valuable than squeezing a handful of starts out of him in August or September with a balky knee. The Dodgers clearly agree. They went out and got Skubal because they needed pitching regardless, not because they gave up on Ohtani’s arm. That’s an important distinction — it means when Ohtani does return to the mound (whether late this season or next year), it’ll be because he’s actually ready, not because the roster forced the issue. I like that approach a lot.

Source(s): Staff (Dodger Blue) | First reported: August 10, 2026 4:23 PM UTC

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