The Los Angeles Dodgers have addressed star Shohei Ohtani’s knee injury, which will keep him out of Friday’s game vs. the Chicago White Sox.
Despite manager Dave Roberts saying after Thursday’s game that Ohtani would likely play on Friday and that the injury concern was “not high,” Ohtani is out of action and will watch from the bench.
Now, before Friday’s game, Roberts said that Ohtani is feeling “fineish” and has no structural damage after imaging.
However, he did say that the inflammation is coming more from the knee than the hamstring, which is different from what he said last night.
What is Shohei Ohtani’s return outlook?
Ohtani’s immediate projection is looking quite favorable — “Not an IL situation,” Roberts said. He could return on Saturday, but considering the travel, Sunday might be the most realistic timeline for his return.
According to Roberts, the Dodgers just wanted to give him an extra day to rest on Friday. He is still confident that Ohtani will make his start on Wednesday vs. the Tampa Bay Rays.
How great has Shohei Ohtani been this year?
Ohtani has been the best player in baseball — by far. He is a top 10 hitter and top 10 pitcher this year, quite comfortably with more than reasonable arguments for being top five in both categories.
He is the runaway favorite for the MVP as long as this injury does not linger too long, though missing a pitching start is actually a big hit in such an amazing Cy Young race.
However, if Dave Roberts is to be believed, his running for the awards is not a concern as of now, but knowing the manager’s spotty track record of on-the-record injury updates, there could be a longer absence than believed at this point.
