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The biggest question in baseball has finally been answered.
Shohei Ohtani will remain in the Dodgers’ starting lineup for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night.
Manager Dave Roberts announced that decision during an off-day workout on Tuesday, confirming that Ohtani will continue as the Dodgers’ designated hitter despite an ongoing slump at the plate caused by injuries to his left knee and right arm.
Over the previous 24 hours, speculation about a potential Ohtani benching had run rampant around the start of this year’s NLCS.
The injury-plagued superstar had his worst performance of an already arduous postseason in Monday’s Game 2 loss to the Brewers, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts while the Dodgers stumbled to a 2-0 hole in the best-of-seven series.
And, with Ohtani’s batting average down to .150 in this year’s playoffs with no extra-base hits or RBIs, Roberts first raised the possibility of benching the four-time MVP in postgame comments he made to The Athletic.
However, a source with knowledge of the situation later said the decision would come down to whether Ohtani still felt healthy enough to continue in his role as the two-time defending champion’s DH.
Evidently, he did, maintaining his lineup spot as the Dodgers try to avoid the kind of 3-0 series deficit that only one team in MLB history has ever overcome in a seven-game playoff set.
Entering October, the Dodgers knew Ohtani’s injury issues would be difficult to manage. The two-way star had been at less than 100% since June, when he first developed a left knee problem that ultimately sidelined him as a pitcher. His right arm ailment had also become increasingly problematic down the stretch of the regular season, forcing him to spend two weeks on the injured list in September and contributing to a home run drought that dates back to Aug. 18.
Still, the club was hopeful about what the 32-year-old slugger would be able to provide at the plate in the playoffs.
Even after he collected only two hits in the NL Division Series and was dropped in the batting order from the two-hole to the Nos. 4/5 spots, Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman insisted the superstar would eventually make a more consistent impact at the plate.
That has yet to happen. On Monday, Ohtani had his worst postseason performance yet, striking out twice, failing to reach base safely for the first time in this year’s playoffs, and looking glaringly out of sync with a number of awkward, uncomfortable swings.
It was bad enough for the club to at least reevaluate Ohtani’s status.
In the end, however, the club decided not to take the drastic step of benching him, at least not yet.