The Dodgers are staring at a possible shakeup with Shohei Ohtani, and a benching is now part of the conversation.
After Los Angeles dropped Game 2 and fell behind 0-2 in the NLCS, manager Dave Roberts said the team will speak with Ohtani about his role moving forward.
“Yeah, I mean obviously it hasn’t been good,” manager Dave Roberts said to The Athletic. “He doesn’t feel great. I think for me, it’s having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what’s best for him, what’s best for us.
“He certainly has earned that conversation and deserves it. I’ll have (that conversation) with him tomorrow.”
Ohtani is playing through neck, bicep, and knee injuries, and the results at the plate have reflected that. In Game 2, he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. In Game 1, he finished 1-for-4 with a walk.
The bigger issue hasn’t just been the numbers. Ohtani has looked out of sync mechanically, unable to get to pitches the way he normally does.
The swing has been off, the timing has been off, and the whiffs have piled up. He even laid down a bunt in the sixth inning against lefty reliever JoJo Romero, which said plenty about where his bat is right now.
At full strength, Ohtani is one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball, the kind of bat that can launch just about anything he sees. Right now, though, he isn’t getting to pitches well enough to tap into that power.
The Dodgers have not made a final decision yet, according to The Athletic, so the possibility of Ohtani staying in the lineup is still very much alive.
If Los Angeles does make a change, rookie Josue De Paula is one possible replacement. De Paula is described as a sweet-swinging hitter who gets on base at an elite level and already has a major league-ready swing.
His glove in the outfield is still a problem, which limits where he can fit defensively. But at the plate, he brings the kind of spark and swagger the Dodgers could use while the offense is sputtering.
With the series already at 0-2, the Dodgers are weighing whether they need to make that move now to avoid another quiet night from the offense. De Paula’s ability to work pitches and punish mistakes gives the case for change some real weight, even if sitting Ohtani is no small decision for a player who has meant so much to the franchise and the sport.
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