Dave Roberts did fans a disservice with Yoshinobu Yamamoto ASG decision after Shohei Ohtani injury

Dave Roberts is once again in the awkward position of managing the National League All-Star team while balancing his primary role as the Los Angeles Dodgers manager. If there's ever a doubt between where his loyalties lies, catering to the national audience or the best interest of the Dodgers, Roberts has made it clear where he stands.

Doing what's best for the Dodgers is always going to be the play. It's bad enough that Dodgers fans won't be seeing Shohei Ohtani during the All-Star game, but the fact that Yoshinobu Yamamoto won't be pitching feels like pouring salt into the wound.

Last week, Roberts and the Dodgers were playing a waiting game. They wanted to wait until after Yamamoto's start against the Arizona Diamondbacks before making a final decision. It certainly wasn't the traditional Yamamoto start that Dodgers fans have come to expect, six runs on five hits in six innings of work, but nothing that should have deterred him from making an appearance during the All-Star game.

Instead, the Dodgers opted for caution and the true losers in all of this are the fans. Yamamoto was an All-Star last year but wasn't available for the game, and while this wouldn't have been his normal start day on a regular schedule, it certainly feels like he should have been allowed to pitch an inning on Tuesday night.

Dodgers standouts Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani won't pitch in All-Star Game

Ohtani's reasoning was sound. He just had his knee drained on Sunday, and it would have been negligent to allow him to play in the All-Star game. It's still a blow to the game.

It's also not a case of Yamamoto being on pace to top his innings total from last season. Last year, Yamamoto topped off at 173.2 innings pitched during the regular season. At the All-Star break this year, he's 110.2 innings pitched. Roughly, he's on pace to match his output last season. In other words, one inning wouldn't have made a major difference in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, the alternative is that something feels off for Yamamoto during an All-Star game appearances, and then Roberts would face endless criticism. He was in a no-win situation with this decision, and the default will always be doing right by the Dodgers.

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