As the 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star Game is set to take place on Tuesday in Philadelphia, the biggest star in the game, the league, and the entire sport won’t be in attendance as Shohei Ohtani will not make the trip. Knee irritation has been bothering him recently, and is forcing him to miss his scheduled start on Friday night.
The two-way star will still get to showcase his hitting abilities for Los Angeles’ remaining games before the All-Star break. The team posted a statement on social media saying Ohtani will be able to serve as the designated hitter for the team’s weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“Shohei Ohtani will not make his scheduled start on the mound this evening against the D-backs due to continued irritation in his left knee,” the statement reads. “He will serve as the designated hitter the rest of the weekend, but following the series against the D-backs he will have some interventions on his knee to put him in the best position for the second half of the season.
“Unfortunately, due to these events, he will not be able to travel to Philadelphia and participate in the 2026 All-Star Game.”
The four-time MVP first hurt his knee on June 11 in a game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, a day after Ohtani pitched 6.2 innings and recorded a no-decision. In the June 11 game, Ohtani served as designated hitter, hit a home run in the third inning but was replaced by a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. He did not play at all the next day, and the irritation has bothered him ever since, even while putting up MVP-caliber numbers.
In his first game back on June 13, Ohtani homered as he’s posted an .860 OPS since leaving early on June 11. The biggest drop-off in his production has come on the mound. He had a microscopic 1.06 ERA through his first 11 starts, which all came before the injury. But in his three starts since, he’s put up a 4.50 ERA. Ohtani’s had a pitching Game Score below 62 four times this season, and three of those have come since hurting his knee.
Overall, in his ninth MLB season—and his sixth straight in which he earned an All-Star nod—Ohtani has 20 home runs, 56 RBI, and a .290 batting average. On the mound, he’s gone 8–2 with a 1.79 ERA, with 95 strikeouts across 85.2 innings pitched. He is the favorite to win his fifth MVP award and join Barry Bonds as the only players to win the award in four straight seasons.
He was set to be the starting designated hitter in the Midsummer Classic and accumulated the most fan votes to receive that honor. He was one of five Dodgers to get an All-Star Game invitation, as no other MLB team had more. He would have also been one of the senior members of the Senior Circuit’s squad, with this being his sixth trip to the game. Only Freddie Freeman (10), Chris Sale (10), and Bryce Harper (9)—who was added as a Legend Pick—have more All-Star Game selections among those on the National League roster.
Ohtani staying in L.A. for the festivities also robs fans of the chance of seeing Ohtani partake in other aspects of either the game or the weekend. He, theoretically, could have pitched at some point in the game, but that obviously will no longer happen. Additionally, the Home Run Derby field had yet to be finalized, and while Ohtani would have been highly sought after for that event, it will have to go on without him.
Major League Baseball has yet to name a roster replacement for Ohtani at the All-Star Game, but it’s all but assured that the NL’s other designated hitter will start over whomever the commissioner adds to the team. That’s because Philadelphia’s own Kyle Schwarber is the only other designated hitter on the roster as it will be a treat for the local fans to get another of their own into the starting lineup.
As for the Dodgers, they have decided upon a replacement for Ohtani, on the mound at least. Kyle Hurt will pitch for L.A. on Friday night as the reliever will make his first start of the year and just second of his MLB career. However, Hurt isn’t expected to pitch for long as he’s simply being utilized as the opener for tonight’s contest, with the Dodgers using a bullpen game as several arms will see action in the first of a three-game set versus the Diamondbacks.
After the All-Star Break, the Dodgers will next take the field again on July 17 in a highly anticipated series in the Bronx versus the New York Yankees. Ohtani last pitched on July 3, so if he starts in Los Angeles’ first game after the All-Star Game, then he will have had two weeks of rest between starts.
