Shohei Ohtani's Pitching Return Put on Ice by Dodgers

The most anticipated pitching return of the baseball season has officially been put on ice. The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Saturday that Shohei Ohtani will not make his scheduled start on the mound this Sunday against the Detroit Tigers.

If you were holding a ticket for Ohtani’s strikeout prop or banking on him to save the Dodgers from a weekend sweep in Detroit, it is time to pivot. The two-way superstar is dealing with lingering left knee inflammation and simply did not feel right after his Friday bullpen session.

"Bob Nightengale reported the Dodgers announced the postponement of Ohtani's Sunday start."

This is the kind of update that sends a collective groan across the sports world, but it makes perfect sense when you look at the math. The Dodgers are not about to risk a massive franchise investment for a late-August game against the Tigers.

Los Angeles has the luxury of playing the long game. They are sitting comfortably atop the NL West and hold the best record in baseball. Rushing Ohtani back to throw fastballs in a random Sunday matinee would be like driving a Ferrari through a flooded intersection just to get to the grocery store five minutes faster.

The Dodgers could certainly use a spark right now, though. They just dropped back-to-back 2-1 heartbreakers to Detroit on Friday and Saturday. Their rotation is already a walking hospital ward, with guys like Roki Sasaki recently hitting the injured list with a blister.

The good news is that Ohtani the hitter is still very much alive and terrifying opposing pitchers. Because the left knee is his back leg in the batter's box, the injury does not impact his swing. He is still sitting on 30 home runs and 80 RBIs while serving as the most dangerous designated hitter on the planet.

For now, the betting markets will have to adjust to a standard Dodgers rotation, and fans will have to wait a little longer for the full Shohei experience. The team is hoping he can return to the bump sometime in September, but until that knee is fully cleared, Ohtani will just have to settle for hitting baseballs into the stratosphere.