Shohei Ohtani not expected to pitch next week as Dodgers manage left knee inflammation

What happened

Shohei Ohtani is not expected to pitch next week, per Yahoo Sports, as the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to manage inflammation and irritation in his left knee. Ohtani threw a bullpen session Wednesday, July 22 in Philadelphia, with another session scheduled for Saturday, July 25 in New York — forward movement, by any reasonable measure, but not the kind that compresses a timeline.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was direct with reporters about where things stand. "That's too early," Roberts said when asked about a potential return next week. "I feel very good that it won't be next week." The sessions represent progress, but the organization is treating them as checkpoints rather than a runway to a rotation slot.

Per Yahoo Sports, Ohtani had been pulled from a scheduled start before the MLB All-Star break after the knee issue surfaced. The Dodgers then decided against his Wednesday start as well, choosing the more measured path of bullpen work instead. Yahoo Sports describes his return to the mound as uncertain for the foreseeable future.

Why it matters

The Dodgers are not managing a fringe roster piece here. Ohtani is a two-way player, and his value on the mound is a separate, significant asset from what he contributes in the lineup. Every week he does not pitch is a week the rotation absorbs his absence — and at 100-62, Los Angeles is deep enough to absorb it, but that does not make the absence trivial.

Roberts framed the calculus plainly. He told reporters, per Yahoo Sports, that while any player wants to be out there competing, Ohtani understands the organization's view that this situation is not about July — it is about October. That is a manager telling you, without ambiguity, that the club is willing to leave starts on the table in exchange for a healthier version of Ohtani when the calendar actually matters.

Roberts also addressed the investment the organization has already made in the recovery process. The club has taken considerable time getting him back to full health, Roberts said, and is not going to begin his return earlier than necessary. That framing — patience as discipline rather than hesitation — is the operating principle Yahoo Sports describes throughout the reporting.

Under general league rules, the injured list for pitchers and two-way players runs a minimum of 15 days, and a rehab assignment for a pitcher can extend up to 30 days before a roster decision is required. That structural framework helps explain why bullpen sessions in late July do not automatically translate into a rotation slot in early August. There is room to be deliberate, and per Roberts, the Dodgers intend to use it.

Where the club stands

Los Angeles sits at 100-62 (.617), leading the NL West and carrying a three-game winning streak into the weekend. Those numbers do not make Ohtani's absence from the mound painless, but they do make it manageable. A club at .617 has the margin to be unhurried about a return timeline, and the upcoming schedule offers a useful window into what the rotation looks like without him in it.

On Saturday, July 25, the Dodgers send Yoshinobu Yamamoto to Citi Field against the Mets, with Nolan McLean listed as New York's probable. Sunday, July 26 features Emmet Sheehan opposing Freddy Peralta in the series finale. The club then returns home for a Tuesday, July 28 matchup against the Seattle Mariners at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium, with Justin Wrobleski lined up against Luis Castillo.

That is a rotation that can function. Whether it functions at the level the Dodgers expect of themselves in October is a different question — and one Roberts appears to be keeping firmly in mind as he maps out the path back for his two-way star. The three-game winning streak heading into New York suggests the rest of the roster is holding up its end of the arrangement.

What we don't know yet

Per Yahoo Sports, Ohtani's return to the mound remains uncertain for the foreseeable future. There is no reported timetable beyond Roberts' statement that next week is not it. The bullpen sessions are encouraging in the sense that they are happening, but neither Roberts nor the Yahoo Sports reporting attaches a specific target date to them.

It is also not reported whether the Saturday session in New York will shift the calculus in any direction. Roberts indicated the organization has already invested substantial time in this process, which suggests patience is the operating principle — but what the sessions need to demonstrate before a rotation start is discussed has not been detailed publicly. The line between "he is throwing bullpens" and "he is pitching in a game" remains undrawn, at least in anything that has been reported.

What the inflammation and irritation in the left knee require beyond rest and monitored throwing sessions is similarly not reported. The diagnosis as described by Yahoo Sports is the public record; the specifics of what the medical staff is tracking between sessions have not been shared.

What to watch

The Saturday bullpen session in New York is the next concrete data point. If Ohtani gets through it without incident, the conversation about a return timeline will presumably continue — but per Roberts, that conversation does not include next week regardless of how Saturday goes.

Beyond that, watch how the Dodgers configure the rotation across the Mariners series and into August. A club at 100-62 with a division lead has the luxury of being methodical, and Roberts has made clear that luxury is being used deliberately. The mound will be there in October. The question, per Yahoo Sports, is simply when Ohtani's knee is ready to meet it.