The Los Angeles Dodgers are putting Shohei Ohtani back in the lineup on Wednesday, September 9th, after giving him a day off on Tuesday out of nowhere.
Ohtani sat from last Thursday through Sunday, missing the whole Washington Nationals series and the finale of the St. Louis Cardinals series, and he returned on Monday for the opener against the Cincinnati Reds.
According to manager Dave Roberts, Ohtani will be back on Wednesday after a game of rest.
The Japanese slugger is nursing well-documented bicep and knee soreness, which are notably compromising his swing and hitting approach.
Ohtani picked up the injuries while pitching. All of the wear from his two-way responsibilities caught up to him, and now he is left handling the wreckage.
According to Roberts, to help Ohtani recover and manage his injury, the team wanted to give him Tuesday off, have him return Wednesday, and give him Thursday off to rest.
The new normal for Ohtani
Ohtani was available to pinch-hit if needed, but the Dodgers wanted to ideally avoid using him and keep him off his feet.
Going forward, he will be monitored closely, and any possible hint of obvious limitation will be put under a microscope.
“Ohtani came out of yesterday well, but talking to training staff, it’s more of the thought of, ‘Let’s build him up slowly,’” Roberts told the media, including Dodgers Nation.
“For us, it’s not about just tonight. It’s about, ‘What can we do to get him to be optimal as we get into the postseason?’ So I think that a day here or there is not the worst thing to make sure that his body overall feels as close to 100 percent as possible.”
Ohtani is 6-for-49 with 21 strikeouts over his last 13 games since August 19th, while not driving in a run and losing his signature slugging ability.
Still, the Dodgers rolled him out at the leadoff spot no matter what, until his wincing and results became too much to ignore.
Now, they are left balancing their current seeding race and getting Ohtani ready for the postseason.
