Shohei Ohtani is baseball’s unicorn. His two-way abilities set him apart from the rest, so much so that MLB introduced a separate rule for him. But great players come with greater challenges to manage, and Ohtani’s desire to play in every game is his Achilles heel. At 32, managing the two-way workload is also not getting any easier on his body.
Analysts have warned the Los Angeles Dodgers time and again about how Ohtani’s obsession with constantly contributing to the team can backfire. After Ohtani’s health derailed his 2026 season, Doug McKain also warned the Dodgers about the same.
“Sometimes the best thing a superstar like Shohei can do is nothing. He wants to be the best hitter; he wants to be the best pitcher. His pursuit of both? It could compromise the ability to dominate either of those,” said Doug McKain, per Dodgers Nation.
Following his second Tommy John surgery in 2023, Ohtani was shut down from pitching in 2024 as his arm was still recovering. In 2025, the Dodgers gradually built him up to log 14 starts. 2026 was supposed to mark Ohtani’s return to fulfilling two-way duties full-time. But the workload proved too much.
His desire to play in every game, as skipper Dave Roberts mentioned earlier, didn’t help his situation either. When Ohtani was throwing Cy Young-worthy innings, his ability to hit was getting compromised.
Ohtani’s troubles started early in the regular season, as he navigated hitting slumps.
However, he was dominating the mound at the time, recording a 0.75 ERA in April and a 1.08 ERA in May. But the workload caught up to him quickly, and the knee discomfort was just the beginning.
As Ohtani’s knee inflammation flared every time he threw, the Dodgers shut him down from pitching.
The last time he threw in a game was on July 3.
Though the Dodgers started a throwing programme to help Ohtani get back to the mound, the team ultimately abandoned it in late August as his knee issues were aggravated.
But the knee discomfort was not the end of Ohtani’s trouble in the regular season.
Biceps and neck soreness added another layer of health concerns to Shohei Ohtani’s season. His hitting was also getting affected.
Though Ohtani managed to finish the season as the Dodgers’ leading home run scorer, the former MVP suffered from a lengthy home run drought. Ohtani failed to hit a home run from August 18 until he slugged the three-run homer in NLCS Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
This season, Ohtani also landed on the injured list for the first time since he joined the Dodgers after he tweaked his arm in September.
Yet, what remained the same is his desire to contribute to the team through it all.
Ohtani was not a fan of missing games or landing in the IL, and the Dodgers gave him the liberty to decide whether he plays or not, to some extent. McKain also warned the franchise about how such practice can backfire.
“You do not give a workaholic the ability to create his own schedule because if you do, all he’ll do is work and he’ll work himself into the ground,” said McKain, per Dodgers Nation.
While Ohtani’s pitching was abruptly halted midseason (1.79 ERA), he finished the regular season, hitting .275 with 30 homers and 81 RBIs. He went 5-for-26 with a 3-run homer in the postseason, as the Dodgers lost their bid to a World Series three-peat.
As for 2027, Ohtani has revealed he plans to return to the mound once again and pick up his two-way role.
He has won multiple MVP titles, but the Cy Young Award has eluded him. Ohtani wants to win it. Bill Plaschke feels that his body no longer supports the workload, and if he insists on doing both, the Dodgers should part ways with him.
“This past season offered unassailable proof that Shohei Ohtani can no longer serve as both a full-time hitter and full-time pitcher… They need to pull him off the pitching mound permanently… if he insists on continuing this detrimental charade, they need to seriously consider trading him,” wrote Bill Plaschke.
While analysts have given their fair share of warnings, it is now up to the Dodgers and Ohtani to decide.
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