Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained the approach that the Dodgers are taking with Shohei Ohtani after sitting him for a second straight game.
Ohtani was ailing during Wednesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, prompting manager Dave Roberts to text him and let him know he was off.
The Dodgers plan for Shohei Ohtani
The Japanese star was in the dugout for Thursday’s game, but true to Roberts’ word, Ohtani did not suit up to play.
Ohtani is out of the lineup on Friday as well, and after Roberts said Thursday that Ohtani would not be going to the IL, he sounded less sure the following day.
“Hopeful. I wouldn’t say confident, but hopeful,” the Dodgers skipper said to the media, including Dodgers Nation
For the time being, Ohtani is going to be day-to-day, Roberts explained, and that another 4-5 days off could be needed.
Thursday’s game off was a “mental” thing for Ohtani to get his swing back on track and see a full game of baseball without needing to play.
From Friday onward, the Dodgers are watching how his body responds to baseball work and trying to understand where he really is physically.
When can Shohei Ohtani return to the Dodgers?
According to Dave Roberts, the organization doesn’t want Ohtani’s absence to be for naught, but to help him finish the season well.
The Dodgers want to make sure he starts healing, rather than just maintaining his current condition, which isn’t getting better or worse.
Realistically, Ohtani could use a week off to get treatment and get a sense of what an actual break feels like.
When Ohtani rested during the All-Star break, he came out of it quite well, and that was a total of a week.
