Shohei Ohtani Still Battling Knee Injury, Says Dodgers Manager

The star left a game early just under three weeks ago due to knee inflammation, but thankfully, the imaging came back clean. Ohtani was only forced to miss one game due to the knee issue before he returned to the lineup.

However, it seems that he is still battling the issue, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

“I don’t think he’s 100 percent with his knee. But as far as his swing mechanics, where he’s at, he’s on balance. He’s 100 percent in the box," Roberts said.

While Ohtani has continued to play through the issue, he is a little more restricted than usual as he's not trying to steal bases. Ohtani only has six stolen bases this year as he's put a larger emphasis on impacting the game with his pitching.

Even with the injury, Ohtani has managed to keep hitting the ball well. Overall, he's hitting .297 with 18 home runs and 50 runs batted in, while posting an OPS of .958.

As a pitcher, he's 8-2 with a 1.58 ERA, striking out 86 batters across 79.2 innings of work.

Ohtani is still the frontrunner to win the National League MVP award this season, and if he keeps up these numbers, it will be his fourth straight season winning the honor.

His home run against the Athletics was a towering blast, even leaving Roberts in awe.

“Yeah, that was a good one,” Roberts said. “You could just see that he was kind of sizing up that slider and he got one left up and put a really good swing on it."

The Dodgers are looking to complete a three-peat this season, and in order to have that become a reality, they will need a healthy Ohtani. Keeping him fresh for the postseason is a major goal for the Dodgers, so navigating the knee issue in the best way possible will be paramount for this club.

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