Dodgers Make Shohei Ohtani Decision Amid Knee Injury

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be holding their breath.

Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is out of Friday's lineup against the Chicago White Sox after leaving last night's game with left knee inflammation.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was initially hopeful that Ohtani would be able to play on Friday, but he is out of the starting lineup.

Ohtani felt pain in his left knee/hamstring area on a stolen base attempt on a foul ball. The Dodgers removed him from Thursday's game in the seventh inning as a precautionary measure.

Ohtani crushed a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates starter Mitch Keller in the third inning of last night's game. He reached base all four times he came to the plate before exiting the contest.

The 31-year-old is slashing .305/.421/.543 with a .964 OPS, 13 homers and 40 RBI in 67 games this season. Ohtani also has an impressive 6-2 record and 1.06 ERA across 11 starts as a starting pitcher this year.

The Dodgers cannot afford to lose Ohtani for a significant period of time. They especially cannot lose him as a starter given the amount of injuries they have suffered in their rotation.

Lefty starter Justin Wrobleski left last night's game with a right hamstring contusion after colliding with left fielder Bryan Reynolds at first base. Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Gavin Stone are all currently on the 60-day IL.

Despite their pitching injuries, the Dodgers are 44-25 and hold an eight game lead in the National League West division. Los Angeles is aiming for a three-peat in 2026 after winning the last two World Series titles.

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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 2:06 PM.