Shohei Ohtani Injury Scare Puts Dodgers and MLB on Alert

Baseball’s biggest stars continue to be in the headlines. Following the Aaron Judge announcement of a several-week injury for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani now left Thursday’s game with knee inflammation, even though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the level of concern is not high and that it was considered a precautionary exit.

It's still concerning.

Ohtani has missed time in recent years with injury, and obviously, with his ability to dominate both sides of the ball, both as a hitter and as a pitcher, missing him for any period of time is detrimental for the Dodgers.

So as of right now, there is no reason to believe he will miss significant time, and there is even optimism that he could be back right away, but it is still something to monitor closely. Oftentimes, with knee issues, it is one thing that can lead to another, and right now, even if it is just being described as inflammation, the fact that Ohtani had to come out of the game at all is significant.

And that is especially true because he is in the middle of having an absolutely elite season as both a pitcher and a power hitter. He is arguably the best player in the league, and his even being in the potential injury spotlight is major news around MLB.

That is what makes this such a big story. The Dodgers may not sound overly concerned right now, but when a player like Ohtani leaves a game with any kind of injury issue, it is immediately something the entire sport has to pay attention to.

With or without him, Los Angeles has the talent to be among the best teams in the MLB, but the Dodgers still prefer to have their face of the franchise healthy.