The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Friday that superstar Shohei Ohtani won't play in Tuesday's All-Star Game due to "continued irritation in his left knee."
Ohtani will also not make his scheduled start Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks because of the issue, although he'll be in the Dodgers' lineup at designated hitter this weekend.
The Dodgers added that Ohtani will use the All-Star break to undergo "interventions on his knee to put him in the best position for the second half of the season." He'll have his knee drained after Sunday's game, manager Dave Roberts said, according to David Vassegh of AM 570 Los Angeles. After that, Ohtani's expected to receive an injection, a source told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
If this were October, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, Shohei Ohtani would be pitching. He doesn’t expect this to impact his pitching schedule post-All-Star break.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) July 10, 2026
Generally, from what I’m told, the concern is pretty low.
Ohtani's been battling a left knee issue for the last month. In June, he exited a game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates because of knee inflammation and missed the next day's contest before returning to the lineup. One week later, he started a game only as a pitcher to help rest his knee, although he did take one at-bat as a pinch hitter after his pitching duties were over.
The four-time MVP also underwent left knee surgery in September 2019 while a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
In addition to his knee woes, Ohtani has dealt with a blister on his pitching hand and a right biceps issue this year. He left his start as both a pitcher and DH on July 3 after seven innings when the bicep problem briefly flared up.
Ohtani received the most All-Star votes in MLB during the first phase of fan voting and was poised to be his league's starting DH for a sixth consecutive season. He started at DH for the AL three times with the Angels before getting elected on the NL side in each of his first three seasons as a Dodger.
The 32-year-old is enjoying another brilliant two-way season. As a DH, he's hitting .290/.405/.534 with 20 homers and 56 RBIs in 395 plate appearances as a hitter; on the mound, he owns a 1.79 ERA, 2.62 FIP, and 0.94 WHIP along with a 10.0 K/9 and just four home runs allowed in 85 2/3 innings.
Per All-Star rules, a starter who backs out of the game will be replaced in the lineup by the player who received the second-most votes at the position. Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber placed a distant second to Ohtani in fan voting among NL DHs and will presumably enter the starting lineup in his home ballpark. MLB has yet to announce the move.
Later Friday, the commissioner's office announced St. Louis Cardinals catcher/DH Iván Herrera as Ohtani's replacement on the NL roster. Herrera earned his first career All-Star nod by hitting .249/.384/.395 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs through his first 92 games in 2026.
The Dodgers will go with a bullpen game Friday after scratching Ohtani. Kyle Hurt will serve as their opener, according to The Athletic's Katie Woo.
