Shohei Ohtani’s bid for the Cy Young Award in 2026 has hit a roadblock.
After missing the All-Star Game and his subsequent scheduled start in Arizona with knee irritation, it turns out the ailment is more serious than we may have initially thought.
On Sunday, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts not only revealed that Ohtani won’t pitch on Wednesday against Philadelphia, but that he’s not going to see the mound for some time moving forward.
Beat writer Jack Harris had the latest update:
“On Sunday, manager Dave Roberts announced Ohtani will not make a pitching start on Wednesday as initially expected, after the two-way star continued to feel discomfort in his bothersome left knee during catch play this weekend.
Roberts added that the team didn’t know when Ohtani — who will continue to hit in the Dodgers’ lineup in the meantime — would pitch again but suggested “that it’s going to be some time” before he is back on the bump,”
The 32-year-old Ohtani has gone 8-2 across his 14 starts so far this season, sporting a sparkling 1.79 ERA with 95 strikeouts. He’s also hit 22 home runs and driven in 60 runs while batting .291 in 90 games played.
It’s disappointing news for Ohtani, the Dodgers, and the baseball world for that matter, though it is for the best to allow the two-way superstar to continue hitting rather than further aggravating the issue and potentially not being able to do either.
Ohtani was already in tough to win the Cy Young with the likes of Jacob Misiorowski, Cristopher Sanchez, and Chris Sale having dominant seasons themselves, and this all but does it for his chances.
He could still, however, win the NL MVP Award for a third consecutive year and his fourth MVP award overall. As long as he continues to produce at the plate, he almost surely will, barring a special second half from someone else in the running.
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