Why this writer gave Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s 2026 season an ‘F’ grade appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ season ended with a stunning sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, and the grades are starting to roll in. Shohei Ohtani did not escape the red pen.
In his Dodgers report card for the California Post, Jack Harris gave Ohtani an F for the 2026 season. At first glance, the grade looks hard to square with his numbers. Ohtani hit 30 home runs and posted a sub-2.00 ERA in 14 starts on the mound. Harris himself called him the second-best player in the National League this year, noting that Ohtani still finished fifth in the majors in FanGraphs WAR.
Harris’ reasoning centered on how the season ended.
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“What mattered most for the Dodgers this year was having Ohtani” healthy and at full strength for the postseason, especially at the plate, Harris wrote. “By trying to play through right arm and left knee injuries, he wasn’t.”
Ohtani batted just .192 in the playoffs. Harris called that “not nearly enough to save the Dodgers’ offense,” and wrote that his three-run homer in the Game 4 loss to Milwaukee came too late to matter.
Harris spread the blame around, arguing that the team’s decision-makers and Ohtani himself share responsibility for how his health was managed. He also suggested the Dodgers may need to rethink how they use Ohtani to avoid another late-season injury crisis.
The health issues had been building for weeks. Ohtani dealt with lingering soreness in his right biceps and left knee before the Dodgers placed him on the 15-day injured list in September with right arm discomfort. Manager Dave Roberts admitted at the time that he regretted not putting Ohtani on the IL sooner. Ohtani was also unable to pitch in the second half or the postseason.
Ohtani acknowledged his struggles after the Dodgers were eliminated, saying the Brewers “really exposed some parts of me as a player.”
Not every Dodger fared poorly in Harris’ grades. Miguel Rojas earned an A in his final season before retirement, and Andy Pages received an A-minus.
The sweep ended Los Angeles’ bid for a third straight World Series title, and Ohtani’s health will be the biggest question hanging over the offseason.
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