Dodgers expect Shohei Ohtani to avoid surgery and be healthy for the start of the 2027 season

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Shohei Ohtani will not need surgery for the right biceps and left knee injuries that have affected his 2026 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced at their end-of-season press conference on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team is expecting Ohtani to be fully healthy by the beginning of the 2027 season, a timeline that keeps the focus on how the club will use him as a two-way player rather than on medical intervention.

Friedman said Ohtani’s injuries, which have been present since at least June, do not require surgery. He also reiterated the Dodgers’ expectation that Ohtani will be able to pitch in 2027, aligning with Ohtani’s public comments following Los Angeles’ postseason exit.

The Dodgers’ offseason planning is therefore expected to centre on workload management and timing. While Friedman said he “fully” expects Ohtani to pitch in 2027, he acknowledged uncertainty about whether Ohtani can complete a full two-way regular season while staying at his best for a deep postseason run, noting that the team had not yet worked through the specifics of how they would balance his responsibilities as both a hitter and a pitcher.

“We haven’t gotten into details yet,” Friedman said. “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.”

Ohtani’s 2026 availability and production shifted as the season progressed. According to the Dodgers’ assessment as reported in connection with the team’s press conference, he hit 30 home runs and posted an .889 OPS while recording a 1.79 ERA through 14 starts. After ongoing injuries began affecting him in mid-season, he did not pitch again after July 3, and his offensive production dropped sharply in mid-August around the same period he attempted to ramp back up on the mound.

By September, the Dodgers determined Ohtani’s condition had compromised him to the point that they placed him on the injured list. In the postseason, he was described as diminished in impact, going 5-for-26 (.192) with one extra-base hit, including a three-run homer in NLCS Game 4 as the Dodgers’ season ended after the Milwaukee Brewers swept them out of the NL Championship Series.

Ohtani addressed his offseason priorities after Los Angeles was eliminated. Speaking through interpreter Will Ireton, Ohtani said he had not been able to come to grips with what he had learned over the season and that he would “go back to the drawing board in terms of treatment, training program, and see what I can come up with for next season.”

Friedman’s comments also suggested that the Dodgers will treat 2027 as a year where the postseason goal shapes day-to-day decisions. He said the club’s priority will be ensuring a full two-way Ohtani is ready for October, and one possibility being considered is that Ohtani might not start the 2027 campaign in the rotation even if he is healthy enough to pitch at that point.

“I think so much of it is, when are we starting up both?” Friedman said. “Is he pitching right out of the gate? If so, how are we going to manage that in the first month and then assess things? … We’re just going to have to be very deliberate about it on all sides, because the value of it is incredible, and therefore it’s incumbent upon all of us to figure out the best way to do it.”

The Dodgers indicated that proactive communication will be part of that planning. Friedman acknowledged that one issue in 2026 was that Ohtani may not have always conveyed how he was feeling physically with the precision the situation required, noting that star players often keep certain information to themselves in order to play.

“The greatest players we’ve been around all do the exact same thing,” Friedman said, “and it’s rooted in how much he cares about competing and helping his team win.”

Ohtani has never started a season as a two-way player and then pitched in the postseason that same year, according to the context provided around the team’s remarks. The club also pointed to the scale of his most demanding two-way workload to date: his age-27 season in 2022, when he took 666 plate appearances and threw 166 innings over 28 starts.

With Ohtani positioned medically for 2027 but with the on-field question of sustaining a full two-way schedule still unsettled, the Dodgers’ offseason process is expected to focus on how to structure his pitching window, his hitting workload, and his transition back to top performance. For Los Angeles, the decision-making will determine not only how effectively Ohtani can contribute during the regular season, but also how likely he is to be at his strongest when postseason baseball arrives.

The Dodgers’ next steps will come after internal evaluation of how Ohtani responds to training and treatment going into the new season. For now, the key development is straightforward: Friedman said Ohtani does not need surgery for the injuries involving his right biceps and left knee, and the team’s expectation is that he will be ready to be fully healthy at the start of 2027, even as it continues to refine how that readiness translates into a two-way 2027 campaign.