Shohei Ohtani’s season has hit a rough patch at the worst possible time for the Dodgers.
Los Angeles placed Ohtani on the 15-day injured list on Sept. 9, pushing him out of the lineup for more than two weeks as the club heads into the final stretch of the regular season. The move comes after a run of nagging issues that have left the Dodgers waiting on their biggest star while the postseason clock keeps ticking.
Ohtani’s latest setback involves his left knee, right biceps and neck. He sat out three straight games last week before returning on Sept. 7, then went 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in the Dodgers’ 6-3 win over the Reds.
He was back on the bench after that, with Freddie Freeman and Will Smith taking over in the lineup. Roberts later confirmed the IL move after Los Angeles beat Cincinnati 14-1 on Wednesday night.
The injuries have been piling up for a while. Ohtani was pulled from a June 11 game after feeling pain in his left knee while trying to steal a base against the Pirates.
Three weeks later, he was pinch-hit for after reporting tightness in his right biceps. He has not appeared on the mound since, and Ohtani told reporters he was not planning to make a return to the bump for the 2026 season.
Roberts said the Dodgers stretched the process as long as they could before finally making the call.
“It’s the right thing to do, we tried to kick the bucket as much as we could," Roberts said.
Because Ohtani is classified as a two-way player, the IL stint keeps him out for 15 days rather than the standard 10. Los Angeles filled the roster spot by calling up outfielder Josue De Paula, who is ranked No. 6 on MLB Pipeline’s prospect list.
The timing matters because the postseason is almost here. The AL and NL Wild Card series begin Tuesday, Sept. 29, and the Divisional Round opens Oct. 3.
Under the rules tied to his two-way status, Ohtani cannot return to the Dodgers until Sept. 23.
He has not pitched in a game since before the All-Star Break, and he will not pitch again this year, but he still carries the two-way designation. MLB’s collective bargaining agreement with MLBPA requires pitchers and two-way players to spend 15 days in the dugout before coming back.
The Dodgers still have plenty of regular-season baseball left before the bracket begins. Their remaining schedule includes a three-game trip to Miami, a four-game set in Cincinnati, three games at home against the Giants, three against the Padres, and then three more in San Francisco to close things out.
Without Ohtani, Los Angeles will have to reshape the top and middle of the order. One possible alignment has Tommy Edman leading off, Will Smith hitting second as the DH, Mookie Betts at shortstop, Max Muncy at third, Teoscar Hernandez in left, Kyle Tucker in right, Hunter Feduccia catching, Alex Freeland at second and Kike Hernandez at first.
Roberts is expected to keep adjusting as the season goes on. Smith could catch at times, while Freeman and De Paula could also slot in at DH depending on the matchup.
Ohtani’s injury history has included elbow trouble, hand issues, Tommy John surgery that cost him three seasons, and operations on his knee and ankle during his time with NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Even so, he has usually stayed in the lineup through the bumps, including the 2023 season when he won NL MVP honors after what was described as perhaps the greatest season ever for a designated hitter.
For now, though, the Dodgers are left waiting on the player who was supposed to be carrying the biggest load.
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