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Shohei Ohtani was back in the Dodgers lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Padres, but there’s a new wrinkle worth tracking: his next pitching start is uncertain as the team continues to manage a right bicep issue, per staff reporting at DodgerBlue. Ohtani left Friday’s game early because of the bicep and sat out Saturday before returning as the designated hitter on Sunday. He largely downplayed the concern, revealing he dealt with similar discomfort earlier this season and that in both cases the issue resolved itself relatively quickly.

The pitching side of this is what matters most right now. Ohtani has been spectacular on the mound in 2026, fully back in his two-way role after the elbow reconstruction that kept him off the mound for all of 2024. His ability to pitch and hit at an elite level simultaneously is the engine that makes this Dodgers roster historically dangerous. When he’s on the mound, we’re looking at a guy who routinely touches triple digits with a devastating splitter and a slider that buckles knees. Any disruption to his pitching schedule — even a minor one — cascades through the rotation in ways that matter, especially as we head into the second half.

Ohtani saying he’s experienced this before and worked through it is reassuring, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t paying close attention. Bicep issues for pitchers are always something you monitor carefully, even when the player insists it’s nothing. The Dodgers have historically been cautious with their arms, and I expect them to take a measured approach here rather than rushing him back to the mound if there’s any lingering tightness. This is a team built for October, and protecting Ohtani’s arm through the summer is far more important than any single regular-season start.

The fact that he’s back in the lineup as a hitter is a good sign — it tells us the bicep isn’t limiting his ability to swing, which suggests the issue is more about the stress of throwing at full effort. The Dodgers could push his next start back a few days, skip him once, or simply monitor how he responds to hitting over the next couple of games before making a decision. All of those options are on the table, and none of them should cause panic.

For the rotation, a skipped Ohtani start means someone else has to fill that slot. The Dodgers have depth — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, freshly named an All-Star, anchors the staff alongside Ohtani, and the back end of the rotation has been serviceable. But there’s a difference between serviceable and Ohtani. We want him healthy and throwing in October, full stop. If that means being conservative now, so be it. I’d rather have him dialed in for a postseason run than grinding through something that could get worse. We’ll know more in the coming days as the Dodgers evaluate how the bicep responds.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue) | First reported: July 6, 2026 2:16 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers