Questions linger about the Los Angeles Dodgers’ communication with Shohei Ohtani after he was placed on the injured list.
Shohei Ohtani’s injury timeline
Since the end of May, Ohtani has been dealing with injuries from his work as a pitcher, including bicep soreness and knee inflammation.
Initially, the Dodgers were careful to temper concerns. Even as Ohtani took a break from pitching to heal up since June, there was always an outlook that saw Ohtani pitching at some point this season.
However, he still hasn’t pitched since then, despite working in the bullpen to continue pitching, and his arm and knee are now affecting his hitting.
Ohtani is 6-for-his last 52, and beyond the results, he is failing to slug, and his swing looks out of sync, with him winging it outward and looking totally unnatural.
Eventually, the Dodgers saw enough and stepped in to have him sit. They tried to let him avoid the IL, which would be a 15-day stint at least, by having him sit four games and then return, but his comeback to the field did not look great, and it lasted just one game.
Now, Ohtani is in fact going on the injured list, and naturally, there have been questions about whether the Dodgers should have held him out much earlier rather than so close to the postseason.
On the Foul Territory podcast, reporter Ken Rosenthal raised the point that it may be about Ohtani’s communication rather than about the Dodgers’ handling of Ohtani.
“A lot of people have said, and I’ve wondered too, is this a case of a player just having too much control?,” Rosenthal asked.
“And I don’t know that it is as much that, as a player who is not communicating his physical condition well enough to the team.
“And we’ve seen this over the years with a lot of players who want to stay on the field. They basically lie about their injuries. He’s not the first Dodger to do it.
“Clayton Kershaw was known for this, Freddie Freeman. But with Ohtani, the problem is, now the time is of the essence here, time is of the essence.”
Was there a communication problem between the Dodgers and Ohtani
Rosenthal does correctly note that there has been a gap between how Ohtani has felt and what the Dodgers knew.
Dave Roberts said Ohtani did not communicate that he “didn’t feel great” until after Tuesday’s game, when he was set to possibly pinch-hit off the bench.
On Wednesday, Roberts made it clear that the organization spoke with Ohtani about the communication issue.
“We did (emphasize communication),” Roberts said. “That’s right. We did.”
When asked about his communication with the team, Ohtani said he would analyze how he expresses himself.
“It’s hard to say now with the season still going on,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton to the media, including Dodgers Nation.
“It’s something that I’m going to reflect back on during the offseason. I’m just making sure that I’m focusing on the now and finishing strong.”
At this point, the communication stuff doesn’t matter, since he is on the injured list now. However, once he lies down again and pushes his body, it will matter more than ever.
