Shohei Ohtani is set to step back into the Dodgers’ lineup Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, giving Los Angeles its biggest bat back with only five regular-season games left to play. Manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that, barring an unexpected change, Ohtani will be activated from the 15-day injured list for the matchup with San Diego.
It will be a hitter-only return. Ohtani’s recent effort to build back toward pitching in August ran alongside renewed trouble in his right biceps and left knee, ailments that had been present since at least June. The Dodgers chose rest over a rushed finish after the injuries became more troublesome in the Sept. 7 game, his last appearance before the club shut him down.
“Unless I hear otherwise, he’ll be in the lineup,” Roberts said.
Ohtani appeared in just three games during September before the IL move, and his production had dipped in the 24 games preceding it. He went 19-for-96, a .198 average, and struck out 34 times in that stretch. Even with that difficult run, he carried a .902 OPS and a Dodgers-leading 30 home runs into his first injured-list stint in three seasons with the club.
The time away was intentionally brief, but it was not a normal hitting ramp-up. Ohtani was unable to take live at-bats against pitchers while sidelined. Instead, he worked against coach-thrown batting practice and the Trajekt pitching simulator as the Dodgers tried to restore his timing without putting unnecessary stress on his body.
Lineup question against a left-hander
San Diego is scheduled to start left-hander Robbie Ray on Wednesday, which could move Ohtani out of the familiar leadoff spot for one night. Roberts is considering putting Mookie Betts at the top against southpaws, then using Ohtani as the leadoff man when Los Angeles faces right-handed starters.
Betts entered Tuesday with a .984 OPS over his previous 40 games, making the decision more than a matter of simply inserting Ohtani back where he had been. Roberts said he was leaning toward the Betts-against-lefties arrangement, though he still needed to work through the effect on the rest of the batting order.
“I think I need to consider the Mookie-versus-lefties situation, but the full lineup construction matters,” Roberts said. “That is likely where it ends up, but I have not made the final call.”
Los Angeles has held its footing without Ohtani, who missed 17 of the club’s last 18 games. The Dodgers had dropped only three games in that span entering Tuesday, a useful reminder of the depth around him. Still, there is no disguising what his return means as October nears.
Roberts does not expect Ohtani to be completely free of discomfort immediately, but the manager said the improvement has been substantial. On a one-to-10 scale, Roberts placed Ohtani around an eight or nine after viewing him as roughly a five when the club placed him on the injured list.
For the Dodgers, the final week is now about getting their star enough plate appearances to regain his rhythm while keeping the body intact for the postseason. Ohtani is expected to play each of the five remaining regular-season games, and Los Angeles will take the healthier version of him it has been waiting for.
