Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman spoke to reporters Wednesday afternoon and gave an update on star Shohei Ohtani.
Friedman said Ohtani dealt with knee and biceps injuries throughout the year and called the whole situation "whack-a-mole."
Importantly, Friedman added that surgery is "not on the table" for Ohtani, so he is expected to heal naturally over the offseason.
The Dodgers are also preparing for a full-strength, dual-threat Ohtani next year. Friedman added, "I fully expect him [Ohtani] to pitch next year. "
With the injuries, Ohtani played in 135 games this season. That ties for the fewest games he has played in a year since 2020. He took the mound only eight times, with his final pitching appearance on July 3, ahead of the All-Star break.
Ohtani was added to the injured list on Sept. 3 and wasn't activated until Sept. 29, as the Dodgers tried to give him extra time to rest up before the postseason.
While he was active throughout L.A.'s playoff run, he wasn't himself at the plate. Ohtani played in eight postseason games and went 5-for-26. He slashed just .192/.323/.308 with one home run and three RBI.
Even with injuries affecting his play throughout the season, he was still very good. But Ohtani has set an unreal set of expectations for himself by winning three consecutive MVP awards.
Over the regular season, he hit .275, his lowest batting average since 2022. Ohtani hit 30 home runs, his fewest since 2020.
The dual-threat star's numbers were down across the board, but he still helped Los Angeles to 100 wins, the second-most in MLB. The Dodgers made the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the National League. Los Angeles knocked off the Atlanta Braves, but the Milwaukee Brewers swept the Dodgers in the NLCS.
The team's goal was a third-consecutive World Series title. One positive of elimination, though, is that Ohtani gets a jump-start on his offseason recovery as he and the team hope to be back to full strength at the start of next season.