Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is likely done pitching for the season, and his multiple injuries seem to have rendered him ineffectual at the plate as well, making real what for many fans must have seemed like a worst-case scenario this spring.
Now that the playoffs are nearing and Ohtani is slumping, leaving analysts like Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain asking the “hard questions” about how we got here and what lessons can be learned.
Shohei Ohtani has gone from transcendent to ineffectual
Up to this point in his career, Ohtani has redefined excellence in baseball — literally.
No one had ever had 50 home runs and 50 steals in a season until he did it, and no one has done it since — despite the promises of New York Yankee Jazz Chisholm.
The idea of a pitcher going six-plus scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and then hitting three homers at the plate was inconceivable until Ohtani did just that in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS.
Now, though, Ohtani is slumping, turning his 2026 campaign into an All Star season, but apparently not one that’s MVP worthy, leading some — DMAC included — to ask if that version of Ohtani will ever be back again.
To begin with, Father Time is not on Ohtani’s side. He’s 32 years old now, still very much within his most productive seasons but definitely on the back end of his career.
Furthermore, Ohtani’s injuries aren’t flukes. His painful left kneecap is an issue he was born with, and it’s plagued him throughout his career.
It’s exacerbated by his pitching, as he lands on his left leg, which in turn causes the inflammation and pain.
His other injuries aren’t as bad. The bicep and neck pain will likely fade with time, but perhaps even when he’s had months to recover, there’s no guarantee that we’ll see the true dual-threat Ohtani again.
Next season, he might decide to pursue his Cy Young goal again and, in doing so, focus more on pitching than hitting.
That would leave him more likely to make it through a complete season healthy, but the Dodgers would surely miss his bat.
Given those risks, the Dodgers have made some intriguing decisions regarding Ohtani and his injuries, choices that perhaps have worsened the star’s current situation.
Dodgers’ injury management
Ohtani has clearly been ailing and in the midst of a slump, but it wasn’t until a few days ago that the Dodgers finally rested Ohtani with some games off.
Even then, he returned Monday, where those same issues with strikeouts persisted, prompting him to sit again on Tuesday night.
As DMAC noted, every player — not just Ohtani — is likely to insist they’re fine, that their bumps and bruises are nothing more than a mental hurdle to be overcome.
But in Ohtani’s instance, they’ve had a noticeable impact since his four-hit game against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 17.
In 14 games since then, he’s hitting .130/.288/.241/.529 with one double, one triple, one homer and 22 strikeouts.
For a player with a .902 OPS on the season, it’s more than a dip. It’s a cratering in performance, and Ohtani admitted to Dodgers Nation’s Ava Brand and reporters that he is going to make physical adjustments to his swing to compensate for what’s going wrong.
The numbers bear out that some changes might be needed.
Ohtani’s average bat speed, which was in the 100th percentile of MLB players at 77.4 mph in 2023 and remained elite at 75.8 mph (93rd percentile) last season.
In 2026, though? Baseball Savant puts Ohtani‘s 74.6 mph at just the 80th percentile in MLB.
The actual figures aren’t drastically different, but even a couple of mph slower on bat speed can turn home runs into flyouts and hard-hit singles into groundouts.
Perhaps Ohtani’s tweaks can help get that bat speed back up and, ideally, get him out of this slump before it reaches a full month — and definitely before the playoffs begin.
That said, there’s the possibility that it’s too late to fix in 2026, even if fans and the team don’t want to admit it.
“It might cost the Dodgers the World Series,” DMAC said. “It might cost them a three-peat. Let’s just be honest here. Let’s throw all the truth bombs out on the table that no one wants to mention. The way that he was handled this season by himself and the powers that be, it could cost him the World Series because he has not hit like Shohei Ohtani. He has been like the 70th best hitter in baseball since the All-Star break—the 70th—and it continues to go lower because he continued to slump.”
Are you worried about the Dodgers’ three-peat chances with an injured Shohei Ohtani?
2 Responses
Well I hate to say it. If he is able to play again. Take out of leadoff spot! He just doesn’t have the right stuff to be leadoff. He can’t steal bases, his power is down and he is hurting and doesn’t need the pressure of being leadoff! With less pressure batting on the backend. He will have less pressure. Let the Dodgers keep the top batting order they have right now. It seems to be working especially with Smith back, Mookie and Teoscar hitting again. Then Edman is hitting again. It seems to be working and I feel all four are confident. So from 5; Muncy, Kyle and then Ohtani. Pretty good backend!
Dodgers deferring to what Ohtani wants is a detriment to the team. He sh9uld be treated like every other player on the team. He needs to go on the IL and get as healthy as possible for the post season.