As the debate rages on about Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and what to do amid his slumping performance and multiple injuries, general manager Brandon Gomes spoke to Dodgers Nation’s Noel Sanchez and beat reporters to assuage concerns.
Gomes spoke with Dodgers Nation’s Noel Sanchez and other members of the media before the game Thursday and detailed why Ohtani, who was held out of the matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals, isn’t on the injured list, as well as what it would take to land him there.
Is Ohtani hurt or just slumping?
Perhaps most notable was that Gomes downplayed the role Ohtani’s injuries have had in his recent struggles.
Ohtani has been slumping in the past two weeks, hitting .137 with 20 strikeouts in the 13-game stretch starting on Aug. 18.
He’s also had to step back from his expected return to pitching amid injuries or pain in both knees, his bicep and his neck.
Gomes, though, disputed the basis of a question that posited there’s a physical aspect to Ohtani’s reduced performance, calling it “just too hard to say” for sure that the injuries are connected.
“I think there are ebbs and flows to the season. … I also think he’s a victim of his own greatness. If Shohei’s struggles for a bit and then it’s, you know, up in arms,” he said.
Gomes is right in that athletes often play through pain or nagging smaller injuries to benefit their teams, but it’s hard not to conflate the increasing numbers of Ohtani’s injuries with his performance falling as the season continues.
Ohtani’s left knee injury, for example, was said to only affect his pitching, but he clearly hurt his other knee diving back to third base earlier this week.
Ohtani’s bicep was similarly supposed to be a pitching, not a hitting, issue, but if you add in the neck injury, that affects him at the plate as well.
Now, a season that was supposed to be focused on Ohtani chasing his last major award, the Cy Young, has the scuffling Dodgers struggling to show signs of life.
The playoffs are nearing rapidly, and the Boys in Blue are not in any form to compete against the best teams in the National League.
There’s still time to right the ship, of course, and many are pushing for Ohtani to take a break before the postseason begins.
Gomes suggested the Dodgers are open to sitting Ohtani if he needs a break, but they’re looking to see if those “different ailments” are “inhibiting performance” before that call is made.
“We know at any moment, he can also break out a bunch of homers and be dynamic on the base paths,” Gomes said.
Fans are hoping that moment comes sooner rather than later.
