Dodgers’ second-half test centers on one issue: can Shohei Ohtani stay healthy?

The Dodgers are turning the page on the first half of the season and stepping into the second with a question that is harder to answer than most baseball problems: can Shohei Ohtani remain healthy over the long stretch ahead? In a preview of what matters most for Los Angeles going forward, Yahoo Sports framed Ohtani’s availability and durability as the central issue, because his value extends across both the pitching and batting sides of the lineup.

What makes the question unusually prominent is that Ohtani’s two-way role ties together multiple areas of the Dodgers’ day-to-day planning. If he is limited on the mound, the rotation and bullpen usage can shift. If he is limited as a hitter, the order construction and lineup protection change. Even when a player is “fine,” the rhythms of workload and recovery matter more in the second half, when games pile up and fatigue becomes a competitive factor.

Pitching coach Mark Prior was cited as the person most directly linked to that health monitoring. Yahoo Sports reported that Prior was “worried” about Ohtani’s situation but also indicated he could not say immediately how worried he was, highlighting that the organization is tracking more than one possible outcome and is still calibrating its expectations.

That kind of uncertainty is not merely narrative. For a team, the practical challenge is timing. The second half is where management decisions start to look prescient, not retrospective. Staff planning, bullpen roles, and the sequencing of starts all become more sensitive when a two-way player’s workload could be constrained at any point. In that sense, Ohtani’s health functions as both a baseball performance driver and a roster-management lever.

Even without knowing the specifics of what Prior observed, the framing matters: Los Angeles appears to be treating Ohtani’s condition as a variable that could meaningfully affect how the team plays down the stretch. The Dodgers do not have the option of casually downplaying that variable, because their identity is built around having their most influential star available for as much of the calendar as possible.

Looking ahead, the next reality check will be operational. The Dodgers’ approach to Ohtani’s pitch workload and batting usage, and how those plans are adjusted when the schedule intensifies, will likely offer the clearest evidence of how serious the organization’s concern is. Equally important will be whether the concern remains qualitative or becomes reflected in more concrete limitations as the weeks progress.

For now, the headline is straightforward: as the Dodgers restart after the All-Star break, their most pressing question is whether they can count on Shohei Ohtani to stay healthy long enough for the team’s full plan to unfold. The answer, in baseball terms, will come through timing, consistency, and how the club manages the margins once the season enters its most demanding stretch.

Key questions for fans to watch include how frequently Ohtani is able to operate without modification, whether his workload is managed conservatively or held steady, and how quickly the Dodgers can adapt if any constraints emerge. In a postseason race, those answers can define not only individual numbers, but also how far Los Angeles can push its title picture.