Shohei Ohtani was shouting as he rounded the bases after his three-run home run in NLCS Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers. He gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a much-needed boost, helping the team secure a 4-0 lead. But it was too late. The Dodgers were already on the verge of elimination, and the Brewers’ offense easily overcame that lead to secure a 6-4 victory.
An NLCS sweep ended the Dodgers’ chase for a World Series three-peat. As the Dodgers chased MLB history, Ohtani’s struggles were a major drawback. With the season now over, MLB analyst Fabian Ardaya emphasized the importance of re-evaluating the team’s plans regarding the Japanese superstar.
“He just was not the same guy this season, even before the injuries started to pile up, and then he clearly wasn’t the same guy from August on. So, yeah, I think there’s going to have to be some re-evaluation of how they scheduled this out, how they have him doing both,” said Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic on Foul Territory.
“He said he still wants to do both; he still wants to pitch. Do you sort of treat it like 2025 again, where you start the season as a full-time hitter, and starting in June you start layering on the pitching side of it? I wonder if that is a way that they approach this going forward.”
Shohei Ohtani started the season as a full-time two-way player, for the first time since his second Tommy John surgery. But multiple issues troubled him from the very beginning.
Earlier in the season, Ohtani delivered a Cy Young Award-worthy performance on the mound, posting a 1.79 ERA. However, it affected his hitting, as he fell into an offensive slump. The Dodgers decided to give him a rest from hitting on his start days to help him manage the workload.
But it did little to help, and Ohtani ultimately developed health issues. Ardaya pointed out on Foul Territory that pitching carries a higher injury risk than hitting.
Ardaya said, “If you are going to put that much of an emphasis on the pitching side, to the point where there were, remember there was times early on in the season when he would pitch but not hit in a game. If they were prioritizing the pitching side, it obviously adds risk to it. Pitching has more risks of getting injured than hitting.”
As Ohtani continued to throw, it indeed ended up hampering his health. Ohtani developed a lingering knee inflammation that flared every time he pitched. The pitching motion increased the discomfort in his knees.
The multi-time MVP also suffered from a sore neck and biceps. After his last outing on July 3, the Dodgers ultimately shut him down from pitching. However, the move did not alleviate the injury setbacks Ohtani was already dealing with. Until Game 4 of the NLCS, Ohtani was on a home run drought since August 18.
Ohtani also landed on the IL for the first time during his tenure with the Dodgers after he tweaked his arm in September. During the last month of the season, plagued by injuries and a 15-day IL stint, Ohtani played only 8 games. He batted .200 with an RBI and 3 runs.
In the postseason, Ohtani went 5-for-26 with 3 RBIs, 3 runs, and 1 home run in 8 games. Now that the Dodgers are eliminated from the playoffs, the franchise is debating whether Ohtani should go under the knife to address his injuries.
“Hard to tell at this point,” Ohtani said, via translator Will Ireton, per Dodgers Nation. “It’s something that’s going to be analyzed, discussed over the offseason, and see if that’s a viable thing to do.”
Whether Ohtani undergoes surgery or not, the Dodgers must plan how to distribute the Japanese star’s workload in 2027. As he will be 33 years old next season, fans can only wait and see how the Dodgers help Ohtani get back in form.
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