Surgery is not on the table for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who played through knee and biceps injuries late in the season and into the postseason, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman announced Wednesday. The Dodgers expect Ohtani to pitch next season and continue as a two-way player. "That's not on the table," Friedman said when asked about Ohtani having surgery.
I fully expect him to pitch next year. I not only expect him to pitch, we're excited about him pitching." Ohtani, 32, did not pitch after July 3 due to the knee injury. He nursed the biceps injury throughout the season and it eventually contributed to the team's decision to shut him down as a pitcher.
Ohtani threw bullpen sessions and faced hitters in live batting practice to prepare to return to the mound in late August, but he had to be shut down. The injuries clearly hampered Ohtani at the plate late in the year. He spent 15 days on the injured list in September, went 5 for 21 with eight strikeouts in five regular-season games after returning, then went 5 for 26 with 10 strikeouts in the postseason.
Ohtani hit .167/.298/.240 with one home run in his final 26 games of 2026, postseason included. Before the injuries, Ohtani made 14 starts and threw 85 ⅔ innings with a 1.79 ERA and terrific under-the-hood numbers. He has a career 2.83 ERA in 114 regular-season starts.
Ohtani has pitched like an ace whenever he's been on the mound, so it's easy to understand why he and the Dodgers continue to pursue it. There are three paths the Dodgers can take with Ohtani as a pitcher in 2027. Maintain the status quo, basically.
Let Ohtani break camp as a regular member of the rotation and plan on pitching him every sixth day -- the Dodgers employ a full-time six-man rotation -- from Opening Day through the end of the season, which the Dodgers hope is at the end of the World Series. This is surely what Ohtani wants, and, of course, he has say in this matter. Here is the Dodgers rotation depth chart going into next season: Even if the Dodgers are unable to re-sign Tarik Skubal, there is plenty of depth there to continue with the six-man rotation, and even skip Ohtani's starts now and then to give his body a break.
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