Dodgers say Shohei Ohtani won't need surgery; expected to pitch in 2027 as two-way role is decided

Shohei Ohtani will not need surgery for the right biceps and left knee issues that limited him this season, and the Los Angeles Dodgers “fully” expect their two-way star to pitch in 2027, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Wednesday.

What the Dodgers have not decided, Friedman said at the club’s end-of-season news conference at Dodger Stadium, is what Ohtani’s two-way workload will look like next year. That question now shapes the offseason for a player whose value is tied to both his bat and his arm.

Friedman said the injuries Ohtani dealt with in 2026 were to his right biceps and left knee, issues MLB reported had affected him since at least June. The Dodgers’ challenge, Friedman made clear, is not simply getting Ohtani back on the field, but determining how to deploy him over a full season without compromising his effectiveness in October.

“We haven’t gotten into details yet, but I expect us to throw our heads together and figure out both in the batter’s box, on the mound, just how we marry all that together to have him impact us as much as he can during the regular season and then also be in a really good spot going into October,” Friedman said.

That balancing act is especially significant with Ohtani because there is little precedent for this kind of workload. MLB noted that his largest two-way season came in 2022, when he logged 666 plate appearances and 166 innings, and that he has never started a season as a two-way player and also pitched in the postseason that same year.

Even in an injury-affected 2026, Ohtani remained highly productive. He hit 30 home runs with an .889 OPS and a .275/.377/.512 slash line. On the mound, he went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts, striking out 95 over 85 2/3 innings.

But he did not pitch after July 3. The Dodgers later placed him on the 15-day injured list on Sept. 11, citing left knee and right biceps soreness.

According to MLB’s reporting, Ohtani’s offensive production dropped sharply in mid-August as he tried to ramp back up as a pitcher, and by September the Dodgers believed the injuries had compromised him enough to shut him down. In the postseason, he went 5 for 26 (.192) with one extra-base hit, a three-run homer in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 15, as Los Angeles was swept by the Milwaukee Brewers.

That finish underscored the Dodgers’ central offseason question: whether Ohtani can carry a full two-way regular-season load and still be at his best for a deep postseason run. Friedman did not offer a timetable or a specific blueprint for 2027, only that the club expects Ohtani to pitch and will use the winter to map out the best way to preserve his value across both roles.

Ohtani said he will spend the offseason reassessing how he prepares.

“I haven't been able to really come to grips in terms of what I've learned overall this season,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “It's something that I'm going to kind of go back to the drawing board in terms of treatment, training program, and see what I can come up with for next season.”