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The Dodgers do not expect Shohei Ohtani to need left knee surgery after the 2026 season, per staff at DodgerBlue.com. Ohtani has been shut down from pitching due to separate left knee and right biceps injuries, but the organization remains hopeful he will return to the mound before the end of the season as he continues to make progress. He has only missed one game since the Fourth of July as a hitter, which is an encouraging sign about the knee’s ability to hold up under everyday use.

Ohtani’s durability — or lack thereof on the mound — has been one of the central storylines of his Dodgers tenure. He arrived in Los Angeles as the most unique player in baseball history, a legitimate two-way star who had already undergone Tommy John surgery during his time with the Angels. The Dodgers signed him to a record-breaking deferred contract knowing full well that managing his workload would be an ongoing project. He spent his entire first season with the club as a designated hitter while recovering from his second elbow procedure, and when he finally returned to pitching in 2025 and into 2026, the results were electric — but so were the injury scares. The left knee issue and right biceps problem represent the latest chapters in that saga. The fact that he’s been able to stay in the lineup as a hitter despite the knee trouble tells us something positive about where it stands structurally, even if the pitching shutdown has been frustrating.

The no-surgery outlook is a significant piece of good news. Knee surgery would likely mean a delayed start to the 2027 season at minimum, and for a player whose pitching innings are already being carefully managed year to year, losing another offseason to rehab would be a real setback. The Dodgers clearly believe the knee can be managed conservatively — rest, treatment, and a return to throwing when the inflammation subsides enough to let him build back up. That’s the best-case scenario here, and the front office appears genuinely confident in it rather than just putting on a brave face.

I think the bigger picture here is that the Dodgers are threading a very specific needle with Ohtani. They want him pitching in October. They need him hitting every day to stay in the lineup race. And they have to do all of that without creating a situation where offseason surgery becomes unavoidable. So far, they seem to be managing it well. Ohtani missing just one game since early July while dealing with knee and biceps issues is pretty remarkable, and the fact that the club is openly saying surgery isn’t in the plans suggests the medical staff likes what they’re seeing. We should get him back on the mound at some point before the postseason push, and that’s a huge deal for this roster’s ceiling.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: August 19, 2026 7:11 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers