Shohei Ohtani will not require surgery on his left knee, right arm, or any other ailment he dealt with during the second half of the season, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Wednesday. Doctors merely prescribed rest, and the expectation is that his 2027 season will be unaffected. Ohtani will train as a two-way player.
"I fully expect him to pitch next year," Friedman said at an end-of-season news conference at Dodger Stadium. But what that looks like has yet to be determined. "This is unprecedented, what he's doing," Friedman added. "We don't have any experience to draw from. We have to all just figure it out together. And I'm not only expecting him to pitch; we're excited about him pitching. How do we manage through a long season and have him at his best going into October? That's a challenge."
Ohtani was a diminished version of himself by October. He ended the regular season with 11 hits and 29 strikeouts over his last 70 at-bats and went 4-for-22 with no extra-base hits in his first seven postseason games. He finally homered in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, but it was too late, as the Dodgers were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers. Continual pain in his left knee and right biceps prevented him from pitching beyond July 3, and he was not placed on the injured list until after Labor Day.
Speaking after the season-ending 6-4 loss on Oct. 15, Ohtani said he was "not quite satisfied with how things shaped up on the pitching side" and would return to the drawing board on treatment and training programs. Friedman acknowledged that Ohtani's struggles "certainly had an impact" on the early exit, though the entire offense slumped, posting a .590 OPS in the postseason.
Friedman also confirmed no changes to Dave Roberts' coaching staff and described it as "business as usual" with owner Mark Walter, who is under federal investigation over alleged multibillion-dollar self-dealing.
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing