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The Los Angeles Dodgers grew concerned Thursday night when Shohei Ohtani was removed from the game with a knee issue. Ohtani has been dominant of late, both on the mound and at the plate.
There is belief that the injury is not serious, but the Dodgers are being cautious. Manager Dave Roberts described the decision as precautionary.
“We tried to be smart about it and get him out of the game,” Roberts said. “He told the trainer that he felt a little something behind his knee, and I just didn’t see any sense in risking it.”
That is good news for the Dodgers, but it is still something to monitor. ESPN’s Alden Gonzales noted that Ohtani does have a knee history worth watching.
“Shohei Ohtani exited today’s game with what the team described as left knee inflammation, and though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Pittsburgh he expects him back in the lineup as early as tomorrow, it’s worth noting his history with that left knee,” Gonzales posted.
That history includes a rare knee condition discovered in 2019 that sidelined Ohtani for a significant portion of that season.
“Shohei Ohtani has a knee condition that is present in about 2 percent of the population and recently began to hinder him off the mound. He'll have it surgically repaired tomorrow, then resume the final stages of his 2019 throwing program in 10 weeks,” Gonzales posted.
While nothing of that severity has been reported this time, it is still something worth keeping an eye on. The Dodgers do not want to lose Ohtani, so they will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Ohtani has been a major part of the Dodgers’ success, and while this is likely something minor that will heal quickly, any mention of that knee condition is concerning. The Dodgers have yet to go an extended stretch without him in the lineup, which would make any absence a difficult adjustment.
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