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The Dodgers are mapping out a deliberate path to get Shohei Ohtani back to full two-way duties, with the organization describing the goal as having him “dominating on both sides,” per staff reporting at DodgerBlue.com. The plan centers on carefully managing the workload tied to Ohtani’s left knee injury — the same issue that pulled him from the starting rotation indefinitely and kept him out of the lineup on July 30 due to soreness.

This isn’t a simple “rest him and he’ll be fine” situation. The Dodgers are dealing with a player whose value is literally doubled because of what he does on the mound and at the plate, and the knee issue makes calibrating that workload genuinely tricky. Ohtani was already removed from the rotation before the knee flared up again, and the team has been proceeding with caution ever since. We saw him throw a bullpen session recently, which was encouraging, but there’s a meaningful gap between throwing bullpens and taking the ball every fifth day while also hitting in the middle of our lineup.

Ohtani’s 2026 season has been another reminder of just how singular he is in baseball history. When healthy and deployed as a two-way player, he’s the most valuable asset in the sport — and I don’t think that’s debatable at this point. The knee, though, has been a persistent concern. The Dodgers clearly want to push toward getting his pitching back online while also keeping him available as a hitter, and those two goals create obvious tension. Every at-bat puts stress on the knee. Every pitch does too. The organization has to weigh short-term production against the risk of aggravating the injury further, especially with October as the real target.

What stands out here is the framing. The Dodgers aren’t talking about shutting Ohtani down or limiting him to DH-only duties for the rest of the year. The explicit goal is both sides — hitting and pitching. That’s ambitious given where things stand with the knee, and it tells you how much this front office believes the postseason version of this team needs Ohtani on the mound, not just in the batter’s box.

For us as fans, this is the storyline of the second half. The Dodgers have built an absurdly deep roster, added Tarik Skubal at the deadline, and have reinforcements trickling back from the IL. But Ohtani pitching in October changes the ceiling of this team entirely. A playoff rotation that could include Skubal, Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and eventually Tyler Glasnow is terrifying for opponents — but only if Ohtani’s knee cooperates. The recovery plan is about threading that needle: getting him built back up without pushing too hard, too fast. I’m cautiously optimistic, but the knee has been unpredictable enough this year that we should temper expectations until he’s actually back on a mound in a game.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: August 17, 2026 3:34 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers