LOS ANGELES — Shortly after the Los Angeles Dodgers polished off a 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night, Shohei Ohtani checked in with the club’s training staff to report further soreness in his troublesome left knee. And just like that, another wrinkle was added to what should be a frenetic MLB trade deadline weekend for the reigning back-to-back champions.Ohtani sat out against the Mariners on Thursday to rest the knee, which has kept him from pitching since July 3. The injury presents a looming question as the Dodgers again hurtle toward October.“I just talked to the trainer, and he said maybe tonight might be a good day for him to be down,” manager Dave Roberts said before Thursday’s game.Ohtani wanted to play, the manager said, but the organization took the decision out of his hands.“I appreciate the communication,” Roberts said. “I can’t read minds, the training staff can’t read minds, so just for him to communicate that allows for us to make a decision.”This will be an ongoing conversation. Ohtani did not sound certain this week that his knee will be at 100 percent the rest of the way. That’s even after he had an MRI and received an injection of Orthovisc, an injectable gel the Dodgers have described as a “lubricant” for his knee, during the All-Star break. Although Roberts said Ohtani’s knee has shown “marked” improvement, it raises at least some red flags that his knee is again an issue so soon after the club’s off day Monday.It is unlikely that the Dodgers will shut down Ohtani by placing him on the 10-day injured list to give his knee (and his right biceps) a chance to calm down, according to a source close to the situation who requested anonymity given the uncertainty of the plans.“Nothing should be off the table, and nothing is set in stone,” Roberts said. “So I think it’s more of how he feels.”Is a fire sale on the horizon for the New York Mets?Tim Britton and Reuben PinderThe Dodgers have downplayed Ohtani’s health as a factor in their deadline plans. Maybe it’s just posturing, but odds are they’d be just as interested in acquiring Tarik Skubal even with Ohtani at full strength as they would be with him shut down from pitching.But Ohtani’s health looms large in the Dodgers’ odds of a third consecutive title, something just four teams have done in baseball history.“He’s not 100 percent,” Roberts said of Ohtani. “Very few players are 100 percent. Then what is it? Is it 70 percent, is it 80 percent, is it 90 percent? For me, there’s still that conversation where it’s like he understands … the most important part of the season is to come, and he understands his value with our team.”Ohtani acknowledged this week that there might come a point when he plays – and pitches – through discomfort. This injury could be something that doesn’t get right until the offseason.“It’s really something that I have to just deal with over the course of the season,” Ohtani said Tuesday through interpreter Will Ireton.