The Los Angeles Dodgers already have enough Shohei Ohtani injury concerns, as the two-way superstar is currently not pitching because of lingering left knee irritation.
These concerns took another form during the Dodgers’ 9-5 win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
A video of Ohtani jumping out of the Dodgers’ dugout moments after the win has surfaced on social media. In the video, Los Angeles outfielder Alex Call is seen jumping next to Ohtani, and Call’s left cleat spikes Ohtani’s right elbow while both are hurdling over the dugout barrier.
Ohtani jerked his arm away before grabbing it, clearly in pain. He walked away for a few moments, seemingly trying to collect himself and shaking out his arm, before turning back around to the Dodgers’ handshake line.
It appears that Ohtani is now fine, as there hasn’t been any reports or indications that the incident created an actual injury.
But Call needs to be more careful with his body awareness, as the Dodgers can’t afford their best player and baseball’s biggest star to miss any more time because of an errant cleat slicing his arm.
The most recent update regarding Ohtani’s knee is that he had a bullpen before Wednesday’s game, marking the first time Ohtani had thrown off a mound in exactly two weeks.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted that Ohtani’s doing so was a, “big sign”, but there’s still no timeline for when he might return to the mound in an actual game.
Ohtani has said he believes the irritation stems from putting too much pressure on his front landing leg when throwing, while Roberts has also described it as “wear and tear” from Ohtani being a full-time two-way player this season.
Thankfully, Ohtani’s recovery timeline doesn’t appear to also factor in the arm abrasion he might’ve suffered from Call’s cleat on Wednesday.
