Shohei Ohtani will not play in All-Star Game due to discomfort in his left knee

Shohei Ohtani will not travel to Philadelphia to participate in the All-Star Game due to persistent irritation in his left knee. The Japanese player was pulled from his scheduled start on Friday against the Diamondbacks as a precautionary measure, though he will remain the designated hitter for the entire weekend series against the Dodgers.

According to the official website of the MLB website, Ohtani led off Friday's game with a home run—his 21st of the season and his eighth to lead off a game—tying James Wood for the most in Major League Baseball. After hitting the home run, he rounded the bases with some caution.

Manager Dave Roberts explained that the decision to exclude him from the starting lineup and the trip to the All-Star Game was made after consulting with the medical staff and the player himself.

"I found out yesterday morning. Talking it through with our guys, Shohei. He’s been managing this quite well, the knee, and so if there’s a chance that we could be proactive and get it drained and do whatever we need to do to try to manage it, along with the rest for the All-Star break, we were going to do that," Roberts said.

In that regard, it was reported that Ohtani underwent knee drainage, which will give him four full days to recover before the Dodgers resume the season on July 17 against the Yankees in New York.

Roberts assured that the injury will not affect Ohtani's ability to pitch during the second half of the season, although the team has not yet determined where in the rotation he will return after the break. He also noted that if it were October instead of July, Ohtani would have started the game despite the discomfort.