Sports

Dodgers Notes: Unfortunate Will Smith Update, Shohei Ohtani Injury Concern, Edwin Diaz Timeline

By Gabe Smallson Sports Illustrated

The Los Angeles Dodgers have an unfortunate update regarding catcher Will Smith amid the All-Star break.

After he was scratched from the lineup in a mid-June contest with neck stiffness, he was only expected to be out for a single game. However, he has now been on the injured list for over one month, and manager Dave Roberts didn't exactly have good news.

"I still don't see him doing anything that's considerable in the sense of, you know, return to play," Roberts said. "Hesitant to put any type of timeline on it, but certainly expect him back this year. Just have no idea when."

In other news, there is some concern regarding superstar Shohei Ohtani and his knee injury that caused him to miss the All-Star Game and related activities. There appears to be a connection to a season-ending surgery in 2019 that Ohtani underwent to repair a rare case of bipartite patella, where the bones of his kneecap failed to fuse together.

Ohtani was scratched from what was supposed to be his final pitching start before the All-Star break due to his knee inflammation. Roberts recently spoke on his superstar and how pitching success (and becoming the first Japanese-born Cy Young award winner) is important to the four-time MVP, but not as much as full availability in October.

"I think that No. 1, he's always said, we've always said, the goal is October, for all of our players," Roberts said. "With that, yeah, he's had the Cy Young in mind, and understandably so. But nothing is going to come in front of being healthy for October.

"And so for him to concede and miss a start in the best interest of him and the team, that's not a surprise. Those are two separate things, but No. 1 is being ready for October, and he's always said that."

Finally, All-Star closer Edwin Díaz has a return timeline courtesy of Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior. Díaz made just seven appearances with the defending champions before he underwent surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow. Now, he's close to getting back.

Here's all the latest Dodgers news and stories (click the headline for the full article):

Dodgers Have Concerning Will Smith Update Heading Into All-Star Break

Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Reveals Concerning Detail Regarding Knee Injury

Dodgers Pitching Coach Reveals When Edwin Diaz Will Return

Another Dodgers World Series Champion Won't Visit the White House

Dodgers' Dave Roberts Makes Bold Shohei Ohtani Home Run Prediction

Shohei Ohtani Increased Sales 10x In One Area of Dodger Stadium

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/onsi as Dodgers Notes: Unfortunate Will Smith Update, Shohei Ohtani Injury Concern, Edwin Diaz Timeline.

Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 5:59 AM.

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