Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager, finally came clean on Wednesday. All those weeks where they swore Shohei Ohtani’s knee and bicep issues weren’t hitting his bat? Total fiction. After Ohtani’s brutal 0-for-4 night against St. Louis, where he visibly grimaced through every at-bat, even the team can’t pretend anymore. It’s rough.
The Pitching Dream Collapses, The Bat Takes a Hit
This isn’t some new thing for Ohtani. He hasn’t thrown a pitch in a game since July 3. He was supposed to get back on the mound last Sunday, trying to ramp up again, but a bullpen session just two days prior brought back that familiar soreness. So, plans tabled, progression paused, again. What’s even wilder is how much this quest to be a two-way force is clearly just wrecking his body and torpedoing his offense.
Since August 14, which was when he threw his first bullpen session in over three weeks, Ohtani’s hitting numbers have fallen off a cliff. We’re talking a .194 average and a .719 OPS over 17 games. Yeah, you read that right. And get this: the guy is currently on his longest homer-less streak as a Dodger, a painful 12 games straight after Wednesday night. That’s just wild for Ohtani, seriously.
Roberts Speaks Truth, Team Suffers
Earlier Wednesday, Roberts was asked point-blank if shutting down Ohtani’s pitching might help his hitting. After a long pause, he finally said, “I do.” He admitted that if you’re not 100%, that “bleed-in to the performance offensively” is a real thing. It’s apparently Ohtani’s call, though: “If he feels like he’s capable, then we’ll run the play out until it doesn’t make any sense.” Honestly, after watching Ohtani wince and shake his troublesome right arm, taking half-hearted swings in his fourth strikeout in the 10th inning Wednesday night, it feels like that time has arrived.
The Dodgers can’t afford this. Not when they’ve got Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow all healthy and ready to pitch. There’s zero reason to even think about putting Ohtani back on the mound in 2026 when he looks like this. The team is struggling, too, going 26-27 since the start of July. Their offense is in a slump, ranking 21st in OPS, 24th in slugging, and 26th in home runs in that same stretch. Roberts nailed it: “Clearly, the swings aren’t who he is.” These injuries,that left knee got an injection at the All-Star break, and the biceps has been barking for months,are clearly compromising him at the plate. And get this: the four-time MVP hasn’t even hit the injured list once since joining the Dodgers, only taking two games for paternity leave last season. That’s dedication, sure, but it’s not working right now.
The Dodgers just took their sixth loss in eight games, and this Ohtani situation is front and center. Something has to give. They need a healthy, impactful Shohei Ohtani at the plate if they’re going to turn this late-season slump around. Fans will be watching closely to see if Roberts’ theory plays out and if a full stop to pitching can unleash the hitter we all know and expect from Ohtani.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
Leave a Reply