Dodgers Notebook: Inside Dave Roberts’ All-Star Prep; Shohei Ohtani’s All-Star Role

Dave Roberts knows the drill. As he gets set to lead the National League All-Star team for the fifth time since 2018, the Dodgers manager understands how the next week will look leading into the game and when he needs to start preparing his lineup and pitching decisions. So, he’s in no rush. “I probably really start thinking about the starting pitcher the Thursday or Friday before the All-Star Game,” Roberts told me on Tuesday, one week ahead of the game in Philadelphia. “It’s who’s going to be available. From that bucket, who deserves it? And then the hometown pitcher, starter, has got to have some weight. Then, try to bake it all in to see what’s the right decision.” Cristopher Sánchez would be a logical hometown choice to start, even after the Phillies starter saw his ERA jump from 2.00 to 2.62 with a clunker this week in Kansas City. Atlanta Braves veteran Chris Sale and Cincinnati Reds breakout Chase Burns are also among the top NL arms available to Roberts. The best pitcher in the National League this year, however, will not be an option. Milwaukee Brewers star Jacob Misiorowski, who leads all qualified MLB starters in ERA (1.64) and strikeouts (167) among a litany of categories, was ruled out of the All-Star Game since he’s scheduled to start Sunday. Fellow National League All-Star pitchers Paul Skenes, who is slated to start against Misiorowski on Sunday, and Max Meyer were also ruled out for the same reason. Replacing that trio of pitchers is Philadelphia starter Jesús Luzardo, Pittsburgh starter Braxton Ashcraft and St. Louis reliever Riley O’Brien. There are sure to be more changes ahead in the coming days, which is why Roberts is taking his time before solidifying his choices. He said he gets the roster updates at the same time as everyone else, and he doesn’t get a say in the choices, so he knows there’s no rush. Soon, Roberts and his coaching staff will be fielding calls from other NL managers and pitching coaches to discuss the workloads of the players on the NL All-Star roster. Those conversations haven’t happened yet, but they’re likely to take place over the weekend. Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior and Major League Baseball also help facilitate those discussions. “There’s a lot of bait-and-switching going on,” Roberts told me. “Pitchers want the All-Star nod, but when they get it and get their bonus, they don’t want to pitch. That’s something we’re very mindful of. Then it puts more stress and potential in harm’s way of other guys that are going to pitch. So, that’s something we’re still trying to get a handle on.” Roberts invited Phillies manager Don Mattingly and Cardinals manager Oli Marmol to be honorary coaches on his All-Star coaching staff this year. Mattingly managed the Dodgers from 2011-15, right before Roberts took over, and was in the opposing dugout in last year’s World Series as the Toronto Blue Jays’ bench coach. Roberts thought it made sense to have the hometown manager joining him for the game, but his decision to include Mattingly went beyond that. “I’ve never spent time with Donnie,” Roberts said. “For me to be able to have an opportunity to spend time with him I thought was great. And Oli, I just think he’s been an organizational guy as a player, as a manager, and we developed a bond, a friendship, and it’s an opportunity for me to spend some time with him.” Roberts said he has gotten to know Marmol much better over the last five years. Marmol has been the Cardinals’ manager since 2022 and has been with the organization for the past 20 years, starting as a minor-league player before working his way up as a manager through the system. He remained on board as the Cardinals’ skipper this year after Chaim Bloom took over as president of baseball operations, signing a two-year contract extension in March despite coming off three seasons without a playoff appearance. The 2026 Cardinals, one of the surprise stories of the first half, are contending for a playoff spot. “We have conversations when we play each other, and he wanted to pick my brain about some things, and I wanted to pick his brain,” Roberts told me. “I think, for me, all the scrutiny that he was going through, I loved the way that he responded and how he remained steadfast managing the ballclub with all the uncertainty, the noise, outside of it. I respected that.” While Mattingly is a National League manager now — after a 9-19 start, the Phillies have gone 42-22 since Mattingly took over as interim manager — he’ll have plenty of connections in the opposing dugout at the All-Star Game after spending three seasons on Toronto’s coaching staff. Blue Jays skipper John Schneider, of course, will be managing the American League team. Roberts’ advice for the first-timer? “Enjoy every bit of it,” Roberts said. “The manager’s speech to the players is something that is always memorable. Sometimes you feel maybe a little pressure, but it’s exciting. Try to get everybody in there. And be mindful of the pitching. You never want to run out of pitching.” That’s something Roberts remembered well from his first experience as an All-Star manager in 2018, when the game at Nationals Park went to extra innings. “It’s a balancing act,” Roberts said. “But at the end of the day, it’s an exhibition, and it’s a lot of fun.” Shohei Ohtani is still lined up to make his scheduled pitching start Friday, a week after feeling tightness in his right biceps on a swing. Ohtani said his removal from the game late last Friday — the Dodgers pinch-hit for him in the seventh inning — was precautionary and that he had dealt with a similar issue earlier this season and was able to play through it. Ohtani was held out of the lineup Saturday but returned on Sunday and then homered in each of his first two games against the Rockies on Monday and Tuesday this week, joining the 300-homer club in the process. Immediately after Ohtani’s biceps issue arose, Roberts said the idea of skipping Ohtani’s last pitching start of the first half should be on the table. Now, though, that’s not the plan. “As he goes through the next couple days, if he doesn’t feel great, we’ll pivot, and we’re prepared to pivot,” Roberts said. “But as we sit here, I don’t see that changing.” Roberts reiterated Tuesday that he doesn’t expect Ohtani to pitch in the All-Star Game or to compete in the Home Run Derby, but he does see him taking “an at-bat or two” in the game. “He understands the responsibility he has,” Roberts said. “So, I do think that there’s a middle for what’s best for him, what potentially could be downside, but also what’s best for the game.” Justin Wrobleski was among the biggest All-Star snubs when the initial rosters were announced last weekend, and that remained the case after his latest start Tuesday. Wrobleski lowered his ERA to 2.69 on the year while striking out nine Rockies and holding them to one run in his third straight start of seven innings. The Dodgers’ sixth starter is 10-2 with a 2.69 ERA that ranks eighth among qualified NL starters. “Obviously it’s disappointing,” Wrobleski said of the snub. “You want to be an All-Star. It’s something that, regardless of the year, whenever, it’s always a big deal. It’s something I wanted to do. It’s frustrating to not get that nod. But like I said before, it’s just more reason to try and keep getting better. Hopefully, I can gain the respect of players and everybody else and maybe be in there next year.” He might not have to wait that long. Changes are still being made, and if Yoshinobu Yamamoto — who is starting Saturday for the Dodgers — is unable to pitch in the All-Star Game three days later, Wrobleski would make for a logical replacement. Wrobleski said he would still love to get the call and would also like to know where he’s going to be spending his All-Star break. His manager has already lobbied for him to make the team, and because Wrobleski made his last start of the first half on Tuesday, he would be available to pitch in the All-Star Game if he got the nod. “We run a six-man rotation, and I just don’t want him to get dinged for not making a couple more starts that he potentially could have had,” Roberts said. “It’s about winning, the ERA is stellar, innings per outing, and so I just think that he’s performed enough to earn that opportunity.” “That means a lot, obviously,” Wrobleski said of Roberts’ support. “He has given me this opportunity to kind of be a starter in the major leagues when maybe some other teams would’ve given up on me.” How to Watch the 2026 MLB All-Star Game The 2026 MLB All-Star Game is Tuesday, July 14, with first pitch at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, live from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Watch the MLB All-Star Game on FOX One for live and on-demand streaming.