Dodgers Notes: Ohtani, Klein, Coaching Staff

Shohei Ohtani will not need surgical treatment on either the knee or biceps injuries that hindered him in the 2nd half, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman informed press reporters on Wednesday (link by means of Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. He’s anticipated to be completely healthy for the start of Spring Training.

Friedman verified that Ohtani will go back to a two-way function in 2027, as the four-time MVP recommended over the weekend. The front workplace leader decreased to address whether they think Ohtani can sustain a complete two-way work for the whole season. He showed the group hasn’t chosen yet what sort of constraints Ohtani may deal with.

A physically obstructed Ohtani was a liability for the Dodgers down the stretch and into the postseason. He missed out on a couple weeks in September due to the biceps problem and didn’t strike well while playing through the injury. Ohtani went almost 2 months in between his last routine season crowning achievement in mid-August and the three-run shot he struck in Game 4 of the NLCS, their ultimate removal video game. He didn’t pitch after July 3 due to the left knee issue.

Ohtani was shooting on all cylinders in the very first half. He brought a. 293/.403/.549 slash line with 22 crowning achievement into the All-Star Break. He was likewise in the early-season Cy Young discussion with a 1.79 made run typical and 28% strikeout rate over his very first 14 starts.

While Ohtani will prevent surgical treatment, reducer Will Klein wasn’t so lucky. The Dodgers revealed that the right-hander went through an elbow treatment to get rid of bone chips this afternoon. It’s a fairly small operation that isn’t anticipated to affect his accessibility for Spring Training. Klein, a surprise World Series factor in 2025, tossed a career-high 41 2/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with a 26% strikeout rate this year. He missed out on the last 2 months of the season due to the elbow injury. (The Dodgers likewise revealed a more considerable surgical treatment for backup catcher/DH Dalton Rushing this afternoon.)

Friedman likewise dealt with the training personnel, suggesting he anticipates the whole group to return in 2027 (link by means of Alden González of ESPN. It’ll be status quo for Dave Roberts’ 12th season at the helm. Bench coach Danny Lehmann has actually gotten some attention as a supervisory prospect in the past however hasn’t been openly connected to either the Houston or Seattle jobs in this cycle. There have not been any specified prospects for the Angels job that developed this afternoon when they formally decreased their choice on Kurt Suzuki.