Shohei Ohtani will not play in the upcoming MLB All-Star Game, a late setback for the league’s leading vote-getter and for fans who expected to see him on the sport’s biggest midsummer stage. The Dodgers pulled him from the event after his knee problem lingered for weeks and forced them to scratch him from his scheduled start this past Friday.
Ohtani did not hide his disappointment. He said, “I feel bad for the fans who voted for me,” adding that he thought they voted because they wanted to see him play and that he felt bad he could not. He also said, “I regret that I have to drop out after being voted in.”
The removal matters because the vote was not a marginal one. Ohtani led the league in fan support, then lost the showcase spot before it arrived. That is the kind of shift that tells readers the issue is no longer just discomfort; it is enough to change the plans around one of MLB’s most visible players.
Los Angeles said Ohtani would receive interventions on his knee, with the aim of putting him in the best position for the second half of the season. The club also said he will not need surgery, and his two-way duties are expected to continue normally, which suggests the Dodgers are trying to manage the problem without shutting down the broader role that has made him central to the team.
That is where the tension sits. Ohtani has been playing through the injury, and the knee issue is not the only concern around him; he has also dealt with tightness in his biceps, was removed from a recent game because of it, and earlier this season hid the same problem from Dave Roberts. He has even been dealing with a blister on his pitching hand. The picture is of a player still on the field, but under enough strain that the Dodgers keep having to adjust around him.
For now, the clearest answer is that the Dodgers are trying to get Ohtani healthy enough to hold up after the break without stopping what he does best. The unresolved question is how much more they will have to scale back before the second half begins.
