Concerns surrounding Shohei Ohtani are mounting as the Los Angeles Dodgers scratched him from the lineup for a fourth straight game on Sunday. He was already sidelined from pitching, and now his hitting has been affected as well. The Dodgers, however, are playing a waiting game, hoping his issues will subside without an IL stint. But with the postseason only a few weeks away, the Dodgers need to determine their next steps quickly. An MLB insider has now joined the conversation, highlighting what a delayed IL placement could mean for the team.
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“Shohei Ohtani is all kinds of banged up right now, and the Dodgers need to figure out whether they’re going to put him on the injured list,” Jeff Passan said on SportsCenter.
“Because if they do, because he is a two-way player, that means he would have to go on for 15 days rather than the 10 for a position player. And at that point, you’re starting to push up against the edge of the end of the regular season to get those at-bats and get him back in rhythm once he comes off the injured list.”
Injuries have troubled the 32-year-old MVP all season as he resumed his two-way role. After lingering left knee discomfort kept him from pitching, Ohtani is facing health concerns anew. Since he went 0-for-4 against the St. Louis Cardinals last Wednesday, Ohtani has not hit. The last time he was absent from the lineup was on July 30. He is currently suffering from a sore neck and biceps discomfort.
But placing Ohtani on the IL means that he will be out for at least 15 days, per MLB rules for two-way players. The Dodgers can backdate it by up to 3 days, meaning he will likely not return until late September. On top of that, Ohtani will have to find his rhythm at the plate. He is hitting .143 over the last 7 games, with three walks and zero homers.
Notably, the Dodgers’ strategy of resting him seems to have worked, as his recent issues have subsided considerably. On Saturday, Ohtani hit in the batting cage. Manager Dave Roberts is optimistic that he can return to his DH duties on Monday.
“Yesterday was a good day,” Roberts told the Orange County Register. “He came out of it feeling well. So if nothing else changes, or [it] continues to trend, I see him in there tomorrow… Until he’s written in the lineup, we don’t know 100 percent, but I’m hopeful.”
However, his pitching future this season is murky at best. The Dodgers were initially trying to build him up for a return, but that no longer seems to be the case. His most recent throwing session came on August 28, when he threw a short bullpen session. Roberts was asked whether Ohtani could return to the mound by the end of the regular season. The manager pointed out that there simply isn’t enough time left to build him back up.
“Not officially, but obviously, if you’re looking at the calendar, how much he’s thrown in the last week, I think we can all do the math,” Roberts said about Ohtani’s return to pitching.
The chance of Ohtani opening a game in the postseason is also unlikely. The Dodgers would rather have him as their DH than risk further injury for a potential return to the mound. The team would depend on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, and Co. to see them through the playoffs.