ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 1: Michael McGreevy #36 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on July 1, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It feels so good to be able to say we have real meaningful baseball games to play again. The St. Louis Cardinals begin their post-All Star Game schedule in Arizona Friday night. The Diamondbacks will give Merrill Kelly the ball. MLB.com says Michael McGreevy will start for the Cardinals. First pitch is scheduled for 8:40pm central time and the game will be available on Cardinals.tv.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 15: Blake Hinson #25 of the Utah Jazz grabs the rebound during the game against the San Antonio Spurs on July 15, 2026 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Mike Kirschbaum/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Utah Jazz will take on the Portland Trail Blazers in their last game of the Las Vegas Summer League. They will also be doing it without their three most prominent summer league players: Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey, and Cody Williams.
Darryn Peterson and Cody Williams will not play tonight as the Utah Jazz close out Vegas Summer League.#TakeNote | @kslsports
It’s been a very up-and-down summer league for Utah for multiple players. Darryn Peterson started the Salt Lake City Summer League and was easily the best player of anyone in Salt Lake or Las Vegas. After two electric games, he came to Las Vegas, and his shooting numbers slumped. Outside of the shooting, Peterson showed great defense, moved the ball well, and showed an elite ability to get to the line. Overall, it’s been a solid showing for the #2 pick and foreshadows the start of a great career.
Cody Williams had a much better showing in Salt Lake than in Las Vegas. He showed some nice things in Salt Lake but looked pretty dreadful in Las Vegas. It’s not clear why he struggled so much, but it was certainly disheartening. We’ll see if that’s a trend for both players or if it means something more. Needless to say, it would be nice to see some improvement from Williams come training camp and preseason.
Finally, what little we did see of Ace Bailey was great. He has played very little because of back spasms, but the small time we did see him, he showed fantastic defensive potential, and his offense looked good. There’s not much else to say about Bailey other than that he still has some sky-high potential.
How to watch
Who: Utah Jazz vs Portland Trail Blazers
When: 8:30 PM MT | July 17, 2026
Where: Pavilion, Las Vegas, NV
How to watch Utah Jazz vs Portland Trail Blazers: Prime Video
Max Fried's first rehab outing is in the books. The Yankees' left-handed pitcher, who went on the 15-day injured list in mid-May due to a left elbow bone bruise, started his assignment Friday for New York's Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders against the Worcester Red Sox and went three innings.
He allowed two runs on five hits, one of which was a home run, while striking out three and throwing 52 pitches with 32 strikes.
"Most important -- was able to get all my pitches in and came out feeling good," Fried said. "So, when you come for a rehab and your first live-game action in a while, I think those are the most important things."
The first inning was a shaky one for Fried, who allowed three singles in the opening frame, starting with Nick Sogard's leadoff knock and soon followed by Andrew Knizner's two-out grounder up the middle that second baseman Marco Luciano did not corral and scored Sogard from third base.
"Just trying to get the feel of a game setting again," Fried said. "I have a lot of live BPs, so trying to throw the ball over the plate, not walk guys, force action -- and they were ready, ready to come out of the break."
Fried rebounded with a 1-2-3 second inning, including a leadoff strikeout of Allan Castro.
"Was looking at it -- 25 pitches after the first inning -- wanted to try to make it through three, hopefully four," Fried said. "But when you get put behind the eight ball like that, you just try to go out there, get a quick inning. It was nice to do that. I was able to get my three full innings, 50 pitches and, like I said, feeling good. So, that's the most important thing."
The southpaw, pitching with a 5-2 lead, started the third inning by retiring Sogard on a flyout until Nate Eaton's solo shot on a 2-1 pitch ended Fried's streak of consecutive outs at five batters.
"A slider -- a pitch I don't really throw a ton, but wanted to try a bunch of different things today and see how it works, and I guess that one didn't," Fried said.
Mickey Gasper subsequently singled on a groundball to shortstop George Lombard Jr. before Fried bounced back with back-to-back groundouts to end the frame and the outing overall.
Fried, last pitched May 13 in the Yankees' 7-0 loss at the Baltimore Orioles, topped out around 95 mph.
"First time back, being around there, throwing a good amount of fastballs, having good command, yeah -- like I said, the most important thing was being able to hit my pitch limit and then come out feeling good," Fried said.
What is next for Fried?
"That's going to be the team's call," Fried said. "I'll just go wherever they want me to for the next one and, yeah, it's more about whatever the team needs -- if they want me to come and keep building up and have another outing, then great. And whenever they feel like I'm ready to go to help the team, I'll be there."
Through 10 games for New York this season, Fried is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 61.2 IP.
"As a competitor, it sucks because I wish that I was out there," Fried said. "But obviously I wasn't able to -- I wasn't able to stay healthy enough to go out there and help the guys out. But we're a confident group. You're not going to play your best baseball the whole year, all 162. It's been not as consistent as we've wanted it to, but I think we're pretty motivated coming out of the break to play some of our best baseball and especially when it matters most."
As a first-year Yankee during the 2025 campaign, Fried went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 32 starts.
Richards was charged with misdemeanor battery/domestic violence and unauthorized use of 911 services. He is currently being held at Broward County Jail in Fort Launderdalle, Florida.
A bond amount was not listed on the Broward County Clerk of Courts website.
Richards is also an equipment manager for USA Hockey, where he served on the gold-medal winning U.S. men's team at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics. He also worked with the team at the 2026 IIFH World Championship and the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Panthers released the following statement after acknowledging Richards’ arrest: "Effective immediately, he will be suspended from all team activities and facilities pending investigation.”
Richards has spent over a decade working in the NHL and has been with the Panthers since the 2016-17 season. He was the equipment manager for the team when they won consecutive Stanley Cup titles in 2024 and 2025. He also worked with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2015-16 season in the first of their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ - MARCH 9: The reconstituted London Bridge has become a popular tourist attraction as viewed on March 9, 2021 in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Located on the Colorado River south of Needles, California, this city of 55,000 residents consists of retirees, visitors to the London Bridge, and lake watersports enthusiasts that is slowly dwindling due to three years of drought. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
CARDINALS
DIAMONDBACKS
JJ Wetherholt – 2B
Ketel Marte – 2B
Ivan Herrera – DH
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Alec Burleson – 1B
Corbin Carroll – RF
Jordan Walker – RF
Gabriel Moreno – C
Lars Nootbaar – LF
Max Kepler – LF
Masyn Winn – SS
Lourdes Gurriel – DH
Nathan Church – CF
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Jose Fermin – 3B
Ildemaro Vargas – 1B
Jimmy Crooks – C
Tim Tawa – CF
Michael McGreevy – RHP
Merrill Kelly – RHP
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 39.
Recalled from Triple-A Reno: 1B Tyler Locklear
Placed on the 10-day injured list: OF Tommy Troy (sprained right AC joint; retro to July 12)
I trust you all enjoyed your break from the grinding drudgery of the Diamondbacks’ 2026 season. But it’s over now, and I’m coming round with my clipboard to make sure everyone is ready to get their noses back onto the grindstone for the coming 66 games. This is where fan stamina really comes into play, especially as the winter sports begin to ramp up, and offer tempting and fleeting distractions from the rigors of a 162-game baseball season. But we shall turn away from the siren calls of football, basketball and hockey, focusing our dedication on the D-backs for the next two and half months, and their battle for a post-season slot.
We begin with the arrival of the Cardinals, who currently sit one and a half games ahead of the D-backs. So if we can sweep here, we’ll overtake them: winning two of three would narrow the gap to half a game, and also (as noted earlier) clinch the season series. We did take two of three in St. Louis, trading one-run contests before Arizona scored a 9-4 win in what would turn out to be the series finale. Thursday’s game was postponed, much to Paul Sewald’s chagrin. Part of me wishes the D-backs fabricate some reason to postpone Sunday’s game – bees would do nicely – and make the Cardinals fly back here to play the make-up.
Interesting the D-backs do not appear to have used the break to shuffle their rotation. So Merrill Kelly will start the first game. He has been improved of late, picking up back-to-back wins over Milwaukee and San Diego, after going 0-5 in June. Small sample size, but particularly hopeful were his K-rate and K:BB ratios. In June, Kelly pitched 28.1 innings and struck out only 14 batters, with 11 walks. In July so far, it’s 12 IP and 12 K’s, to 5 walks. The resulting FIP of 4.52 this month still isn’t great. But it’s a damn sight better than the 7.05 figure Kelly posted last month. With Michael Soroka’s return still some way off, we need Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt to be what we know they can be.
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 12: Keibert Ruiz #20 and Andrew Alvarez #54 of the Washington Nationals interact during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Nationals Park on July 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We have gotten some time to decompress and get away from Nationals baseball, but now we are back. The Nats head out west to play the Athletics in Sacramento. With two strong lineups and a small ballpark, there could be some fireworks on display this weekend.
The big news in today’s lineup is that Harry Ford is going to make his Nats debut. The 23 year old will be catching and batting 6th. With a lefty on the mound, Andres Chaparro will get the nod at first over Luis Garcia. James Wood will DH, which means the outfield will consist of Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews. Cade Cavalli will get the start as the Nats kick off the second half.
Despite super star first baseman Nick Kurtz being out injured, the A’s lineup is still fierce. Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom are a fearsome trio in the middle of the lineup. Former LSU star Tommy White is also making his debut tonight which will be interesting to watch. Another LSU standout, Gage Jump will be on the mound tonight.
The Nats will look to get back to .500 as we start the second half. With the A’s and Rockies to start things off, this could be an opportunity for the Nats. However, there are no easy games in the MLB, especially for a team with the weaknesses that the Nats have. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 17: Meleek Thomas #15 of the Cleveland Cavaliers derives against Jaylin Sellers #2 of the Chicago Bulls in the first half of the 2026 NBA Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 17, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Louis Grasse/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers wrapped up Summer League with a 100-91 win over the Chicago Bulls, led by 24 points from Meleek Thomas.
The Summer League environment rewards score-first guards. The limited practice time, mismatched rosters, and the overall lack of interior defensive talent make it easier for someone in Thomas’s archetype to excel in this setting. Yet, it’s difficult not to be impressed with what we’ve seen in four games.
This wasn’t Thomas’s best scoring outburst in Las Vegas. He missed his first four shots before catching a rhythm. And when he did, the points started to pile up as he converted 10 of his final 16 attempts.
Thomas’s ability to create space off the dribble has been impressive. He’s been able to get to and finish at the rim more efficiently than he did in college in a more spaced-out style of play. Thomas did that again, going 5-5 in the restricted area on Friday. That — combined with his lethal outside shot — has led to impressive scoring performances.
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Natural scorers have a way of getting where they want to on the court. Thomas has looked like one in Las Vegas. Nothing about his offensive game feels forced. He reads the defense and then gets the shot he wants from there. We saw that repeatedly on display in the 24-point performance.
There are understandable questions about how this looks when he’s forced into a more off-ball role, as he will be at the start of his NBA career. The skills that allow him to be effective with the ball in his hands should still show through. How exactly that looks is an open question.
Thomas isn’t a complete offensive player, at least not yet. Running an offense as the point guard and intentionally looking to set up teammates doesn’t seem to come naturally to him. Based on what Koby Altman said right after they drafted him, this is something the team wants him to work on.
Despite those concerns, there’s a compete level with Thomas that you want to see. He plays with intensity, but doesn’t let that overcome other parts of his game. There’s a purpose behind his actions, which is what you want to see, and is something you can’t really teach.
Thomas wasn’t the only Cavalier who had a strong showing.
Riley Minix had a nice bounce back after struggling throughout the first four games in Las Vegas. He put up 12 points on 5-9 shooting.
Malaki Branham concluded a strong Summer League with 13 points and five assists. Tre’Von Spillers added 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
The Bulls decided to rest the fourth overall pick, Caleb Wilson. They were led by 22 points from Donovan Atwell.
The Cavs completed their trip to Vegas with three straight wins and a 3-2 record overall.
The next time we’ll see someone on the court in the wine & gold will be when the preseason tips off in early October.
The “Second Half” of the 2026 MLB season begins tonight for the Athletics. They’ll pick up at home in West Sacramento against the Washington Nationals at 6:40 p.m. After finishing the first half on a nine-game losing streak, the team hopes to get off on the right foot against a Nationals team which sits in fourth place in the National League East with a 48-49 record.
There ill be two new faces in the A’s lineup tonight. Starting at second base is newly acquired infielder Donovan Walton, a seven-year veteran who has made short stops in Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Anaheim. He’ll be batting seventh in Mark Kotsay’s lineup. Tommy White will man first base tonight for the A’s. He’s making his MLB debut, after being called up from AAA Las Vegas (officially) today.
Taking the mound for the A’s, making his tenth start of the season is 23-year-old lefty Gage Jump. Jump is 3-4 on the season with an ERA of 3.51 in 48.2 innings of work. He’ll face off against 25-year-old righty Cade Cavalli for the Nats. Cavalli is 5-4 with a 3.83 ERA in twenty starts. He’s struck out 110 batters in 98.2 innings.
Cavalli will face off against this lineup for the A’s who will be without Nick Kurtz and Zack Gelof who went on the Injured List (IL) before the break:
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 15: Ebuka Okorie #23 of the Detroit Pistons handles the ball during the game against the Phoenix Suns on July 15, 2026 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Tom O'Connor/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Detroit Pistons play the Miami Heat in the Summer League finale. It’s not until 9 pm. It will be on ESPN, which means maybe so more people will be able to watch. No clue who will actually suit up for the Pistons. Play ball.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 15: Nate Ament #15 of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on July 15, 2026 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Mike Kirschbaum/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
There was a big hullabaloo about the Bucks acquiring Kasparas Jakucionis and the 13th overall pick in the draft (which became Nate Ament) from Miami. At the time, certainly, those were seen as two of the prime assets that Jon Horst was able to wrench out of the Heat’s hands. Accordingly, Bucks fans were hyped to watch both in action at Summer League.
Unfortunately, both players experienced a good amount of struggles (along with some positive moments too, to be fair) in Vegas. Jakucionis was something of a human turnover machine, while Ament looked out of place for the first three games just on a physical basis.
Therefore, for this week’s Reacts survey, we wanted to do a temperature check on how fans viewed the Giannis trade package after watching these players’ aforementioned Summer League struggles. Had they changed their tune from how they viewed the deal before they saw these two young Bucks play? Well, while the majority of fans had not (59%), a solid chunk (41%) had.
Milwaukee’s final game in Vegas is now locked in for tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. CDT against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Check out FanDuel, the official sportsbook of SB Nation.
At some point, the Philadelphia Flyers need their power play to be better than one of the worst, if not the very worst, in the entire NHL, and they can only change systems and coaches so many times before coming to a different conclusion.
Through the offseason thus far, the Flyers have missed out on several players who would have otherwise helped bolster their unit.
The offer sheet attempt on Leo Carlsson was an excellent idea, but Anaheim, obviously, matched the sheet and shut down the move.
Defenseman John Carlson preferred to go to a contender and got his wish with a deal in Tampa Bay.
Flyers legend Claude Giroux considered an offer tabled by his good friend and former teammate Danny Briere, but ultimately opted to remain with the Ottawa Senators for one more year.
Ultimately, the Flyers were forced to walk away from NHL free agency, thus far, with veteran fourth liner Noel Acciari and a host of AHL/NHL tweeners, like Nolan Foote, Jack Studnicka, and Zach Aston-Reese.
In lieu of acquiring a No. 1 center just not being a reliable or realistic option at this time, the Flyers still can, however, find a reasonably effective power play quarterback on the quickly thinning market.
More than two weeks on from the start of free agency, former star defenseman John Klingberg remains an unrestricted free agent, who leads the remaining crop of available defensemen with his 27 points in 55 games last season.
Klingberg, 33, isn't the same player he was in 2017-18, when he scored a career-high 67 points in 82 games for the Dallas Stars, but he can still contribute to a power play on a good team.
Injuries have been a factor for the Swede, too, as a hip injury decimated his 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, limiting him to a total of just 25 regular season games between stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers.
Klingberg did return mostly healthy in the 2025-26 season for the San Jose Sharks, but was not always included in the lineup by head coach Ryan Warsofsky.
Still, the former Stars ace averaged 20:28 in the games he did play, scoring five goals and nine total points on the power play, accounting for a third of his total point production.
At his best, Klingberg was a player capable of producing double-digit power play points regularly, and nearly did so again this past season despite his advanced age and having missed nearly two full seasons worth of time.
As illustrated in the JFresh player card above, Klingberg has always been average to bad defensively, but a positive influence offensively.
Fortunately, the Flyers would not be signing the Swede for his defensive prowess, or lack thereof, and Klingberg would serve more as a mentor and rotational piece who could be used to protect someone like David Jiricek or Oliver Bonk from suboptimal matchups as they get their feet wet at the NHL level.
If all goes well, Jiricek would be the Flyers' power play quarterback of the future, but the team cannot guarantee that off rip.
By signing Klingberg, the Flyers can get themselves some veteran insurance while ensuring they do not rush Jiricek along before he is ready, or before they feel comfortable giving him an every-night role.
Of note, too: Klingberg and newcomer Simon Benoit played as a defensive pairing in Anaheim in 2022-23, so there is an element of familiarity there. The advanced analytics were as bad as you'd expect, but we can also argue that the Flyers employ a better structure with better personnel to insulate them.
Klingberg played the last season for the Sharks on a one-year, $4 million deal; the Flyers currently have just under $14 million in cap space available after re-signing Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras.
Financially, there is little risk for the Flyers to chase after the best remaining power play specialist, and Klingberg could build himself enough appeal for a trade to a contender later in the season if he straps up his boots and does a tidy job for the Flyers early on.
Wilson Peak, San Juan National Forest, Colorado (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The Cincinnati Reds turn to righty Brady Singer for the opener of their 2026 second half. The Reds are on the road in Denver to take on the Colorado Rockies under a muggy high sky.
First pitch is set for 8:40 PM ET, and Rockies righty Gabriel Hughes will be the man firing that pitch.
It appears the LeBron James free agency drama will drag into next week as he made a couple of appearances at Fanatics Fest in New York and said nothing new. As LeBron again enjoys basking in the spotlight, here are the latest rumors on the biggest story in the NBA.
"Multiple sources familiar with his thinking told me in the last 24 hours that he is truly getting much closer to a decision."
One of the hot rumors about LeBron during the Las Vegas Summer League was that he wanted to wait until after the World Cup to make the announcement, and whether that is his intent or not, that seems to be how things are playing out. ESPN's Shams Charania said on Friday he thought an announcement could come next week. For now, we're all feeling like Miami’s Pat Riley.
"Right now, I think we're like everybody else, we're just waiting to see what he does," Riley said this week.
Antetokounmpo makes his pitch
Miami is one of the "finalists" in the LeBron sweepstakes, and Giannis Antetokounmpo talked about the opportunity to play with him during an appearance on ESPN with Ohm Youngmisuk on Thursday.
"If there was a scenario for that to happen, I'd be very, very excited. He's one of the best players to ever play this game, if not the best. [I'd] be able to learn so much from him. Obviously, brings such a championship experience to the team right from day one. I think he's still one of the best players in the [game today], if not top 25 [at 41 years old]. You don't see signs of him slowing down at all. You saw in the playoffs how effective and good he was for the Lakers.
"But I'm just like everybody else, we don't have all the information. All the information is in LeBron James' hand and his family's hands, and he's going to make the best decision for him. The history has shown that he's always made good decisions for his career. And I hope if he thinks that the Miami Heat is a good decision for him. I would love for him to be here."
A lot of pundits have Cleveland and Miami — two former LeBron teams — as the frontrunners for his services (NBC Sports continues to hear Cleveland, but nobody really knows).
Did LeBron drop 76ers hint?
For the second day in a row, LeBron appeared at Fanatics Fest, this time for a live recording of his show "The Shop." Philadelphia fans are running with this quote as a hint that he is coming to the City of Brotherly Love. Quote via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
"What's most important is I want to compete, I want to compete at a high level. I want to join a franchise that kind of shares the same motto as myself, and that's, like, practicing championship happens every day. But trusting the process more than anything."
The process? Philly fans at the event cheered, but LeBron quickly shot that down with his next comment.
"I've been saying 'to trust the process' since I was drafted in like 2003. I don't even know if Embiid was even born yet."
At this point, we could parse LeBron's comments over the past few months and have it point just about anywhere. Read into it if you want, all anybody else really wants is him just to make a decision.
Major League Baseball banned the practice beginning Wednesday.
The crackdown was issued in a June 11 memo to teams but wasn’t put in place until the day before the second half of the season began following the All-Star break.
As first reported by The Athletic, MLB found that some teams were using league-issued iPads in the dugout “beyond their originally intended purpose to include recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions traditionally made by players and coaches.”
The memo, from MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword and obtained by The Post, was sent to general managers, assistant GMs and video coordinators.
The Mets’ dugout is pictured during an April 12 game. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post
The tablets, which still will be permitted in dugouts, give teams access to league-provided Statcast information, as well as multiple video angles and data related to the automated ball-strike system.
Video accessed during the game in the dugout is only available on delay.
The custom tab allowed teams to access other programs and will no longer be accessible.
The move could impact teams that began calling pitches from the dugout, a trend that has become more widespread this season.
It will no doubt have other impacts as teams throughout the league have relied more heavily on analytics in all aspects of the game.
MLB has permitted the use of iPads in dugouts for over a decade and noted in the memo that a review earlier this year showed that teams were “compliant” with rules regarding sign stealing and electronic device usage, so no penalties were handed out.
Teams were essentially given a month to stop using AI for in-game decision-making purposes “to make any necessary adjustments.”
He served as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter to open the series on the road against the New York Yankees in a rematch of the 2024 World Series.
Ohtani was pulled from a scheduled start on the mound before the MLB All-Star break due to inflammation and irritation in his left knee. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Ohtani did have lubricant injected into his knee but did not have it drained. The injection is expected to provide Ohtani with relief in his knee.
He was the league's leading vote-getter but withdrew from the MLB All-Star Game due to the discomfort in the knee, which impacted his pitching mechanics.
Roberts said the team will watch how Ohtani does this week before finalizing his next pitching start, tentatively on Wednesday, July 22. The Dodgers are also expected to be cautious with the superstar’s workload in the second half.
