How Shohei Ohtani’s Injuries Impact Dodgers’ Deadline Strategy And Stretch Run

LOS ANGELES — At least publicly, despite the Dodgers’ looming presence in any potential Tarik Skubal deadline sweepstakes, the team’s front office continues to downplay its need or desire to add high-end starting pitching. Even with Shohei Ohtani’s timeline to return to the mound uncertain, Dodgers executives point to the production of young starters Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki and the anticipated second-half returns of Blake Snell (who is on a rehab assignment) and Tyler Glasnow (who is expected to start one soon) as reasons for that confidence. “We talk about this a lot, of doing everything we can to win a World Series in that current year but also continuing to develop our young players,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told me on Tuesday. “It’s difficult to both try to do everything you can to win in that current year but also be able to develop young players, because there is no replacement for the major-league level and the reps that it takes to get there. “So, it’s a delicate balancing act that we’ve been doing for years, and hopefully our system continues to produce high-end players that we’ll continue to have to [balance] in the future.” That balancing act won’t get any easier over the coming year. At some point soon, perhaps at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, the Dodgers will have to address their surplus of outfield prospects, whether that means dealing some of them for other prospects or using them to upgrade the big-league roster with a difference-making piece (or pieces). There simply won’t be room for all of them in Los Angeles. “This is far and away the deepest, most impressive group of outfielders I’ve ever seen,” Friedman told me. “Fortunately, right now it’s in Low-A, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A, so there hasn’t been any real friction yet. But, it’s coming. And whether that’s this July or this offseason, there’s going to be a time where we’re going to need to redistribute that a little bit.” Josue De Paula, the No. 4 prospect in baseball according to MLB’s Top 100 rankings, is the most highly regarded of the Dodgers’ crop of minor leaguers. The Dodgers will have to put the 21-year-old on the 40-man roster after the season to avoid him getting plucked in the Rule 5 Draft, which he most certainly would. De Paula has 16 home runs, 27 steals and a .928 OPS at Double-A Tulsa. On his team are two other top-25 MLB prospects in outfielders Mike Sirota, who sports an OPS over 1.000, and Zyhir Hope, who has 21 homers and 18 steals. At Triple-A, outfield prospects James Tibbs III (who also plays first base) and Zach Ehrhard have been two of Oklahoma City’s most productive hitters. Meanwhile, 20-year-old outfielder Eduardo Quintero, another top-20 prospect according to MLB’s rankings, is hitting over .300 at High-A Great Lakes. He plays on the same team as outfielder Charles Davalan, a 2025 first-round pick who has a .960 OPS over his first two minor-league seasons. They all happen to be in an organization with no immediate runway. Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages is a 25-year-old All-Star. Right fielder Kyle Tucker received a four-year, $240 million deal (with 2028 and 2029 player options) before the season. Left fielder Teoscar Hernandez is also signed through at least next season. The Dodgers don’t necessarily have to sort out their excess of outfielders over the next week, but the deadline tends to spark action. “This time of the year sets up well for it because all teams are talking,” Friedman acknowledged. “But it’s also one of those things that doesn’t necessarily have to tie into the major-league team. It can, but it doesn’t have to. It may also go to the offseason. But at some point, figuring that out both for our guys that we end up going with and the ones that we move, for them to have opportunity, is important.” It’s a nice problem for Friedman to have, and it’s one of the many reasons the Dodgers could logically make a push for Detroit Tigers ace Skubal or any piece they want. After years of spending exorbitantly, Friedman has built a team that doesn’t necessarily have to buy. In fact, the Dodgers could even do some selling and still be in prime position to win a third straight World Series title. “The goal in the offseason is to be as aggressive as we can be to go into July with no real acute need,” Friedman said. “Fortunately, right now, we feel really good not only about the talent of this group but also the way it meshes together.” And yet, this is the same front office that sounded content to sit out of the top end of the free-agent market over the winter only to then sign the top player (Tucker) and closer (Edwin Díaz) available. This is also the same front office that made deadline moves for Yu Darvish in 2017, Manny Machado in 2018 and Trea Turner and Max Scherzer in 2021. So, it’s hard to count the Dodgers out on any player who would significantly increase their odds of becoming the first team since the 1998-2000 Yankees to win three straight World Series championships, a desire that might be insatiable, especially with the uncertainty regarding the next collective bargaining agreement. In other words, even if the Dodgers don’t need Skubal, they’re as equipped as any team to acquire the prize of the deadline. That is, if he becomes available. The Tigers, despite a 51-57 record, entered Wednesday just five games back in the AL Central and 3.5 games back of a wild-card spot. In each league, only four teams are four or more games out of a playoff spot. With only days left until the deadline, a plethora of clubs have yet to pick a lane. “It does feel like there are a lot of teams who are trying to both buy and sell,” Friedman said. “That’s great in theory, but it’s harder in actuality, and I think has a chance to create a real logjam in the typical flow of transactions. So, I do expect [most of the action] to be closer to the deadline, but I caveat that with saying I think I feel this way every year. And, I guess for the most part, they do go down to that last 24 hours.” Ohtani’s Biceps Also “Not 100 Percent” It remains to be seen if Ohtani’s continued absence on the mound becomes the tipping point for the Dodgers to make a deadline splash, but there’s more to his pitching hiatus than lingering knee discomfort. The two-way superstar hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3, primarily due to a left knee issue that required an injection over the All-Star break. However, Ohtani acknowledged on Tuesday that his biceps is also “not 100 percent” and is another reason he has been limited to hitting for most of the month. “Just, similar issue with the knee,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “Do we consider pushing this? It is still July. So, I think the conversation would be a little different if we’re in August or September.” In the same game as his last pitching start, Ohtani tweaked his right biceps on a swing and was replaced by a pinch hitter. He returned to hitting two days later on July 5 and has remained a mainstay in the lineup since, but the issue with his biceps popped up again during a bullpen session last Wednesday in Philadelphia. He hasn’t thrown another bullpen since. “It just wasn’t responding, nor was his knee,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “There is an effect on the lower half to the compromising of the upper half, the arm. So, trying to mitigate that, we stopped the throwing, stopped the bullpens.” Ohtani was hitting just .184 with no home runs in his first nine games to start the second half before homering as part of a three-hit day to start the Dodgers’ homestand on Tuesday. As of now, there are no plans to shut him down as a hitter to give his ailing body more rest. He said his knee is getting better, and his goal is to focus on hitting until the knee is feeling 100 percent. Right now, he said it’s closer to 90 percent, and there’s no need to force the issue by having him pitch through the pain. The Dodgers are tied for the best record in baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers. They have an 11.5-game lead in the NL West, with reinforcements on the way. Kiké Hernández was activated on Tuesday, about a month ahead of schedule from his grade-3 oblique strain, and will provide depth primarily at third base and in left field. Meanwhile, Díaz is slated to return Wednesday, Snell (elbow) is wrapping up his rehab assignment, Glasnow (back spasms) could be back next month, and catcher Will Smith (neck) has resumed baseball activities. But the longer Ohtani doesn’t pitch, the more time he’s going to need to build back up. Given Ohtani’s importance to the lineup, have the Dodgers considered keeping him strictly as a hitter in October? “Everything that I’ve heard, that’s not the option,” Roberts said. “I guess anything’s possible, but for me, it’s highly unlikely. We’re doing all this, No. 1, to make sure that he’s in a good spot health-wise. But given where we’re at in the calendar, if the knee continues to get better, the arm continues to feel better, I would expect him to pitch.”