It’s been almost four weeks since Shohei Ohtani last pitched in a game, still managing the left knee inflammation that still isn’t 100 percent. But that’s not the only injury the Dodgers superstar is dealing with.
After Tuesday night’s game, Ohtani revealed that his right bicep has also been bothering him. That was part of the reason that his planned bullpen session over the weekend in New York was scrapped.
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“It started with the knee, and the bicep thing started when he took a swing — I don’t know, three or four weeks ago. Then as we got to the break we wanted him to rest his knee, to rest his body and arm. Then as he started ramping back up, in the bullpen … it just wasn’t responding. Nor was his knee,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday night, as shown on SportsNet LA. “There is an effect from the lower half to the compromising of the upper half. So trying to mitigate that, we stopped the throwing, stopped the bullpens, trying to take care of the knee and hopefully not try to create velocity with the arm that’s not 100 percent.”
Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic wrote about how Ohtani’s injuries, which might prevent him from pitching in October (though the Dodgers insist his rest now is a precaution and that they expect him to pitch in the postseason), could increase the Dodgers likelihood to pursue Tarik Skubal before next Monday’s trade deadline.
Ohtani homered and doubled on Tuesday, part of a three-hit game against the Mariners. But he’s hitting .250/.307/.500 in July, decent numbers but well below his established norms. Since the All-Star break, Ohtani is hitting .238/.283/.405.
Roberts said the Dodgers need Ohtani in the lineup, and the training staff ensured he’s not as affected by the knee and biceps injuries while batting as opposed to pitching. Dylan Hernández at the California Post argued the Dodgers should place Ohtani on the 10-day injured list for rest, and he’s probably right.
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The Dodgers hold an 11 1/2-game lead in the National League West. They are making the postseason, and it would take a lot for them to not be one of the top two seeds, securing them a bye past the wild card round. They are a team managing with an eye toward October, a month they have already secured though not yet clinched.
If there was ever a time to be conservative, to take a step back, this is it.
Wednesday game info
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Teams: Dodgers vs. Mariners
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Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
