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Dave Roberts told reporters the Dodgers “don’t see” Shohei Ohtani participating in the Home Run Derby this year, per Jack Harris at the New York Post. The decision comes as the team continues to manage Ohtani’s right biceps issue, which has already cast some uncertainty over his next pitching start. Roberts was direct about it — the Derby isn’t in the plans.

Ohtani, of course, is the most dynamic two-way player in the history of the sport and one of the biggest draws in all of baseball. He’s already launched his 300th career homer this season and has been putting together another absurd offensive campaign. The Home Run Derby would seem tailor-made for a guy with his kind of raw power — he’s crushed balls out of every park he’s played in — but the Dodgers clearly aren’t interested in adding any unnecessary wear on that right arm. The biceps concern, while Ohtani himself has said it’s feeling “good,” is something the organization is being careful with. Smart. You don’t risk a generational talent for a glorified exhibition.

I think this is the right call even if it’s a disappointing one for fans. Ohtani in a Home Run Derby would be must-watch television, and we all know he’d put on a show. But the Dodgers are playing for October, not July spectacle. The biceps situation doesn’t sound dire — Ohtani was swinging the bat well in the recent series against Colorado — but there’s a difference between being healthy enough to play meaningful games and being healthy enough to take 40-plus max-effort swings in a competition that has zero bearing on the standings. The All-Star break should be about rest and recovery for him, plain and simple.

Roberts framing it as “don’t see” rather than a hard shutdown leaves a tiny crack of ambiguity, but I’d read that as manager-speak for “it’s not happening.” The Dodgers have been meticulous about managing Ohtani’s workload since he signed, and this fits the pattern. They protected his innings on the mound early in the season, they’ve been cautious about the biceps, and now they’re keeping him out of the Derby. Every decision points in the same direction: prioritize the second half and the postseason.

For the Dodgers, this is a non-controversial move. Nobody in our fanbase should be upset about this. We want Ohtani healthy and raking in September and October, not tweaking something in a mid-July exhibition. Let someone else put on the show in the Derby — we’ll take the version of Ohtani who’s fresh and fully healthy when it actually counts.

Source(s): Jack Harris (New York Post) | First reported: July 8, 2026 12:19 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers