Ohtani will not participate in All-Star game
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani will miss next week’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia because of continued irritation in his left knee.
The Dodgers added that Ohtani would not make his scheduled start on the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night, but would continue to start at designated hitter throughout the weekend.
Ohtani has been dealing with discomfort in his left knee for at least a month. The right-hander had an outing cut short against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 11 because of inflammation in the knee.
The Dodgers said that after their series against the D-backs ends on Sunday, Ohtani will have some “interventions” done on the knee to get ready for the second half of the season, which will cause him to miss the All-Star Game.
The four-time MVP has once again been one of the best players in the big leagues this season and stands alone as a two-way player.
Ohtani is batting .290 with 20 homers and 56 RBIs and is 8-2 on the mound with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings.
Ohtani’s absence will be a blow for baseball’s midsummer showcase at Citizens Bank Park. The Japanese star – who turned 32 earlier this week – is among the game’s most popular players and led MLB in jersey sales last year.
He hit his 300th career homer on Tuesday night, a leadoff shot against Colorado’s Michael Lorenzen that made him the first Japanese-born player in the majors to reach the milestone.
The Dodgers are the two-time defending World Series champions and have baseball’s best record at 61-33 entering Friday.
Schwarber in Home Run Derby
Veteran Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber is the latest participant announced for the Home Run Derby in Philadelphia on Monday night.
Schwarber joins his teammate Bryce Harper in the eight-man field and the pair will try to put on a show for the home crowd at Citizens Bank Park. Boston’s Willson Contreras, Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, St. Louis’ Jordan Walker and the New York Yankees’ Ben Rice will also be part of the competition.
One other participant hasn’t been announced.
The 33-year-old Schwarber enters Friday’s games with 32 homers, which leads the big leagues. The four-time All-Star has been one of baseball’s elite home run hitters for several seasons with 219 long balls since 2022, trailing only Aaron Judge (227) over that span.
This is Schwarber’s third appearance in the derby. He made the finals in 2018 before losing to Harper at Nationals Park and was also part of the 2022 derby, losing in the first round to Albert Pujols.
Hayes returns
Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes was activated off the injured list by the Cincinnati Reds before their game Friday night against the Chicago Cubs.
The Reds also placed Matt McLain on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf strain. The move is retroactive to July 8.
Hayes missed 42 games due to a bulging disc in the lower area of his back. He was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates near the trade deadline last year and won his second NL Gold Glove.
However, Hayes has struggled at the plate this season, batting .142 with two home runs and five RBIs in 42 games. Hayes is hoping that some work he did in Arizona building back his swing will lead to improvement the rest of the season.
“I’ve never really been a drill guy, but I think those have helped with kind of rewiring the brain to help my body move a certain way, because once you swing for a month, two months, three months, a certain way, it’s hard to just flip a switch and change those movement patterns,” he said.
With McLain on the IL and TJ Friedl still banged up after crashing into the wall while making a catch on Wednesday, Spencer Steer made his first big league appearance in center field in the series opener.
Manager Terry Francona said he approached Steer about the possibility on Thursday.
“The more I talked to him, he said, ‘I can do it.’ I don’t want to put guys in a position where it’s unfair to them or something like that. But I think the more we talked about it, he got really excited,” Francona said. “He’s not going to be the go-getter out there. That’s unfair, but I bet he makes the plays he’s supposed to make.”