New Shohei Ohtani Injury Update as Dodgers Star Shut Down Indefinitely from Pitching

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani won't be taking the mound anytime soon.

Per ESPN's Jorge Castillo, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced on Sunday that Ohtani will miss his scheduled start Wednesday against the Philadelphia Phillies and will not pitch indefinitely due to irritation in his left knee. Ohtani hasn't pitched since a July 3 win over the San Diego Padres.

Roberts said the plan for Ohtani's return to the mound changed when the two-way phenom informed the Dodgers' training staff that his knee wasn't progressing as he expected before throwing his scheduled bullpen session. Roberts added that he fully expects Ohtani to pitch again this season, but he's not sure when.

"Kind of where we're at, right now, how we're proceeding, I would say that it's going to be some time," Roberts said before the Dodgers' doubleheader against the New York Yankees on Sunday. "And I say that it's not going to be a day-to-day thing."

Ohtani has continued to stay in the Dodgers' lineup as their designated hitter. Castillo noted that he had a lubricant injected into the knee last Sunday and did not travel to Philadelphia for the All-Star Game.

"I just think for us, it's more like what we've done many times over, erring on the side of caution," Roberts said.

Ohtani is in the lineup for the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, but Roberts said it hasn't yet been decided if he will play the nightcap. He added that the team has not considered shutting down the four-time MVP completely for multiple days because the knee issue only arises when he pitches.

"He did this pitching," Roberts said. "When he does swing the bat, it's the back knee versus the land knee where you're kind of driving off of it to create torque when you pitch. So there is no feeling of any sensation [when he hits] or any reason why we feel like we've got to stop hitting."