Shohei Ohtani will not require surgery on either the knee or biceps injuries that hampered him in the second half, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters Wednesday (link via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). He is expected to be fully healthy for the start of spring training. Friedman confirmed that Ohtani will return to a two-way role in 2027, as the four-time MVP suggested over the weekend. However, the front office leader declined to answer whether they believe Ohtani can sustain a full two-way workload all season long. He indicated that the team has not yet decided what kind of limitations Ohtani might face. A physically hampered Ohtani was a liability for the Dodgers down the stretch and in the postseason. He missed a couple of weeks in September due to a biceps issue and didn’t hit well while playing due to the injury. Ohtani spent nearly two months between his final home run of the regular season in mid-August and the three-run shot he hit in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, their eventual elimination game. He did not pitch after July 3 due to a left knee problem. Ohtani was firing on all cylinders in the first half. He had a .293/.403/.549 line with 22 home runs until the All-Star break. He was also in the Cy Young conversation early in the season with a 1.79 ERA and 28% strikeout rate in his first 14 starts. While Ohtani will avoid surgery, reliever Will Klein wasn’t so lucky. The Dodgers announced that the right-hander underwent a procedure on his elbow this afternoon to remove bone chips. It’s a relatively minor operation that isn’t expected to impact his availability for spring training. Klein, a surprise World Series contributor in 2025, pitched 41 2/3 innings of career-high 3.67 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate this year. He missed the final two months of the season due to an elbow injury. (The Dodgers also announced more major surgery for backup catcher/DH Dalton Rushing this afternoon.) Friedman also addressed the coaching staff, stating that he expects the entire group to return in 2027 (link via ESPN’s Alden González). It will be the status quo for Dave Roberts’ twelfth season at the helm. Bench coach Danny Lehmann has received some attention as a managerial candidate in the past, but has not been publicly linked to Houston or Seattle’s vacancies this cycle. There have been no clear candidates for the Angels’ vacancy that arose this afternoon when they officially declined their option on Kurt Suzuki.
