Andrew Friedman said on July 29, 2026 that he is confident Shohei Ohtani will return to pitching in the 2026 season. The Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations told reporters, "we feel very confident he will be back."
Friedman said Ohtani's knee issue is not structural and continues to improve, which he said is the basis for the team's confidence. "If there was something structural then we would be much more concerned. The fact that there's not," he said. He added that doctors and imaging suggest Ohtani is good to proceed, and that Ohtani himself has reported hitting does not bother him, with only the landing mechanics of pitching affected. Friedman also said that without the knee issue, Ohtani would be pitching in his regular turn right now. He noted Ohtani has been throwing plyo balls and keeping his arm going while the knee is managed separately from any arm strain, and attributed Ohtani's recent execution struggles to the knee affecting his ability to repeat his delivery: "Execution was a little bit off from what we've typically seen from him and I think it speaks to the knee and the delivery."
On the club's broader approach to injured players, Friedman explained the philosophy is to get players back to stay back rather than rush them. "It's get them back to stay back. Not get them back as quickly as we can, but get them back to stay back," he said. Regarding Blake Snell, Friedman said the decision on activation after a rehab start will be based on what is best for Snell rather than the team's needs, stating, "we don't want to place our needs above doing what we think is right to build a guy back." He noted Snell has made a rehab outing, and that Blake had as well.
Friedman said Will Smith's neck has been steadily improving, matching the timeline predicted by one of the doctors consulted, noting "he has continued to stack good day on good day and progressing." He added that multiple doctors agreed on the diagnosis of Smith's neck issue but disagreed on the recovery timeline. Friedman also addressed Edwin Diaz's return and mentioned Tyler Glasnow's rehab progress.
On trade deadline strategy, Friedman explained the team tries to be aggressive in the offseason specifically to avoid having an acute need in July, saying acquiring players out of urgency at the deadline means "you're paying 150 cents to 200 cents on the dollar." He credited the organization's scouts, front office and player development group for building a farm system strong enough to engage in trade talks for any player. Friedman also said that if he were ever concerned enough about a player heading to another team, his response would simply be to try to acquire that player rather than block the move: "if I was so concerned about a player going to another team, I'd probably want that player. So then I would just acquire that player."
Friedman said the team feels confident that Ohtani will relatively soon begin ramping up for catch play and bullpens, while Snell's next step will depend on an assessment of his upcoming rehab outing.