Shohei Ohtani was visibly uncomfortable on his last at-bat Wednesday, swinging through a slider and retreating with a noticeable lack of lower-body support before shaking his right arm. He was held out of the Dodgers’ lineup Thursday — his first absence since July 30 — and listed day-to-day, with a stint on the injured list described as unlikely.
Ohtani has not pitched in a game since July 3 and has not thrown off a mound in seven days. A bullpen session last Friday, viewed as a step toward rejoining the rotation, was cut short because of lingering soreness in his left knee and right biceps.
With the postseason fewer than four weeks away, the Dodgers face a decision on whether to preserve Ohtani’s two-way role. The club has not ruled out allowing him to pitch in October, and the organization has acknowledged the difficulty of eliminating that possibility given his value on the mound even in a limited capacity.
Manager Dave Roberts emphasized the importance of Ohtani’s bat, saying “His value offensively is hugely important, and so we can’t compromise that in any fashion.” The Dodgers still possess a deep rotation without Ohtani, including Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow; Snell has a 1.17 ERA in four starts since returning from the injured list, the report noted.
Offensive production has been a concern. Since the start of July, Dodgers hitters rank 22nd in OPS (.703), 23rd in runs per game (4.2) and 22nd in weighted runs created plus (94). Kyle Tucker, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman slumped in August; Freddie Freeman ended a 47-game homerless stretch Wednesday, and Mookie Betts has been worse in 2026 compared with last season. The report said it is easy to envision the Dodgers winning a championship without Ohtani providing October innings, but nearly impossible if his offensive effectiveness is compromised.
