Shohei Ohtani will step into the postseason carrying more uncertainty than the Dodgers would prefer, but he believes the rest and work of the past month have put him in position to contribute when Los Angeles opens the National League Division Series against the Braves on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Game 1 is set for 4 p.m. ET, 1 p.m. PT. The Dodgers are chasing another championship run, and their lineup still figures to lean heavily on Ohtani near the top of the order, even after a difficult finish shaped by right biceps and left knee trouble.
Ohtani returned from a 15-day injured list stay with five regular-season games left and went 5-for-21, with a double, eight strikeouts and one walk. He then used the club’s first-round bye to combine recovery with baseball work, taking simulated at-bats against teammates and seeing pitches from the Trajekt machine.
He said he came away encouraged by both his swing and his condition, while recognizing that neither matter is fully settled.
“I haven’t really been able to identify the underlying cause,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “That will probably be something for the offseason, when I have more time to deal with it. Right now, it is something I will have to manage.”
The original plan was for Ohtani to complete his first full two-way campaign with Los Angeles. Instead, the injuries that had been bothering him since at least June took him off the mound for good. He was 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA over 14 starts, but his last pitching appearance came July 3, when the knee discomfort became too difficult to work through. He will not pitch during this postseason.
Los Angeles left open the possibility of bringing him back as a pitcher during the following two months. But his attempted buildup coincided with another flare-up in the biceps and knee, along with a sharp slide at the plate. In the 24 games before his IL placement, Ohtani batted .198 with a .689 OPS and 34 strikeouts in 109 plate appearances.
That stretch came after he had spent much of the season in the MVP conversation, batting .296 with a .952 OPS and 26 home runs. He finished with 30 homers, his lowest total in three seasons as a Dodger, and has not homered since Aug. 18 in Colorado.
Manager Dave Roberts said the club cannot be certain which version of Ohtani will arrive once the series begins, though he expects the postseason environment to bring another level of focus.
“When the lights come on and the playoffs begin, I know his concentration will rise,” Roberts said. “I expect good things. We just have not seen enough lately for me to predict exactly what it will look like.”
Hitting coach Aaron Bates said the recent work has centered less on Ohtani’s physical limitations and more on the familiar business of a hitter finding his timing again.
“Physically, he is getting beyond that stage,” Bates said. “Now it is about seeing different velocities, deciding when he wants to get his move started and working through the normal things hitters handle, rather than trying to make the body cooperate.”
The Dodgers expect Ohtani to be healthy enough to serve as a productive bat in either the leadoff spot or the No. 2 hole. Still, the club may need more regular communication from its star, particularly after president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Ohtani had generally been willing to talk but was not always fully open about how he felt.
General manager Brandon Gomes said the assignment is simple now that October has arrived: Ohtani, like every player in the room, must give the club whatever he has.
“We have always had open conversations with Sho,” Gomes said. “This is the time of year when everybody is ready to go. He is no different. All we can ask is that he goes out there and gives everything he has.”
Ohtani said he can learn plenty about his condition simply by returning to his setup and taking competitive at-bats. The postseason atmosphere, however, will provide the clearest test.
“Even if I do not get many at-bats, I can tell how I feel, especially in my setup,” Ohtani said. “I was able to see that. But I want to get into the postseason, feel that atmosphere and make whatever adjustments I need.”
