Just a few days ago, the MLB officially announced its partnership with Polymarket as the official Prediction Market Exchange partner, and many fans were not happy. And the effects are showing now. Because Shohei Ohtani has not had a good start to the season.

Pikkit reported, “Over half a mill already lost on Shohei Ohtani HR bets this season.”

Reportedly, fans have lost around $510,000 via their bets on Polymarket because Shohei Ohtani couldn’t hit a homer in any of his games. Apparently, fans placed around 42k individual bets for him to hit a homer, and all of those predictions failed.

With how Ohtani’s WBC run went – he was one of the HR leaders (3 home runs in 4 Games) – the expectations from him were big. Plus, in 2025, he set a new career-high with 55 HRs, which was also LA’s franchise record. And how can fans let go of Ohtani’s establishment of the 50/50 club in MLB in 2024! But now, it looks like he is falling short.

Shohei Ohtani is 3-18 at the plate with no extra base hits, showing how he is struggling with contact. In games like the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 4-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

Even with multiple walks, which show patience, he has not been able to provide for the Dodgers in clutch moments.

And the frustration is not just from fans, but from Ohtani, too.

In a recent interview, Ohtani admitted, “on pitches that I should be making impact, I’m not quite able to do that to the extent that I should be able to.”

But it’s not just him who is falling short.

Many of the Dodgers’ batters do not have an average above .200, showing signs of the 2025 season.

While the Dodgers won the ring last season, their offensive struggles could hardly be missed. After the wild-card round, the team slashed only .216/.307/.359.

They produced roughly 3.6 runs per game in the World Series. The Boys in Blue mostly relied on homers rather than building on innings. The Dodgers secured wins with key home runs in the 8th, 9th, and 11th innings in the final games.

Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman combined for a low .197/.307/.329 slash line following the wild-card round. The same struggles are continuing in 2026, too.

Betts (3-22 in 2026) and Freeman (5-24 in 2026) are struggling to get on base consistently.

In 2025, all the postseason games the Dodgers won were close. And their pitching staff was the cornerstone of their victory, with starters producing a 1.40 ERA over 64 1/3 innings during the postseason. And Shohei Ohtani, himself, can be a key contributor in that rotation.

While Ohtani’s bat may not be in its top form, his arm is spitting fire.

Is Shohei Ohtani a bid for Cy Young in 2026?

Shohei Ohtani opened his 2026 pitching season by firing six shutout innings against the Cleveland Guardians. He allowed just 1 hit and struck out 6 in their 4-1 win.

After missing major mound action in 2024, the team brought Ohtani back to the mound in mid 2025, and he has been doing a decent job after his recovery.

He finished 2025 with an ERA of 2.87 with a 1-1 record. But he did struggle in the postseason.

Shotime finished the postseason with an ERA of 4.43. However, it was his first time back on the mound in over a year. That is not the case now.

The Dodgers have waited to see him as a fully two‑way player since he joined on a 10‑year deal in 2024. And he has shown his desire to contribute to the team with successful ABS challenges.

In the rain-soaked game against the Guardians, he struggled a bit with control at the start but was able to retire his first seven batters.

Looking ahead, the Los Angeles Dodgers plan to fit Ohtani back into the rotation with six days of rest before his next start. With pitchers like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow around him and Blake Snell yet to return, Ohtani has some luxury in finding his rhythm.

In the end, Shohei Ohtani, with a 0.00 ERA so far in 2026 and a dominant start, could realistically be a great bid for the Cy Young in the NL.