Shohei Ohtani’s spot in the Dodgers’ lineup is suddenly in question, and that tells you everything about how far this slump has gone.
Los Angeles is weighing whether to sit its biggest star for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo. In what is effectively a must-win game, the Dodgers are at least considering a move that would have seemed unthinkable not long ago.
“Yeah, I mean obviously it hasn’t been good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said to The Athletic after Monday’s Game 2 loss. “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.
Ohtani has gone just 3-for-20 in six postseason games, and all three of those hits have been singles. He has struck out seven times.
The drought stretches well beyond October. His last home run came on Aug. 18 against the Colorado Rockies. Since then, he’s 14-for-90 (.156) with three extra-base hits, 36 strikeouts and an OPS of .483.
According to Rosenthal and Woo: "Benching Ohtani requires far more than a conversation between player and manager, and the Dodgers have made no formal decision. Any decision about Ohtani’s playing time will also include president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, among others."
Even so, the mere fact that this is being discussed is a blunt reflection of where things stand. Heading into the NLCS, the Dodgers believed their four-time MVP would break out of it.
“It’s not what we all expect, what he expects from himself,” Roberts said before the NLCS. “But I do feel that [given] the talent, the care, it’s going to happen. So I think it’s just up to all of us to keep winning baseball games.
“And then at some point, he’s going to come to life.”
Friedman sounded just as confident before the series.
“I think Sho is the most talented player who has ever played this game. ... He was obviously going through it over the summer.
Took time off, which I think helped in a lot of ways. That being said, some bad habits were formed.
But every time he steps to the plate, I have all the confidence in the world that something big’s going to happen.”
That big moment still hasn’t arrived. And now the Dodgers are openly entertaining a drastic answer.
If Ohtani is not the starting designated hitter in Game 3, rookie Josue De Paula would almost certainly get the nod. Milwaukee is starting left-hander Robert Gasser, so a right-handed-heavy approach remains possible, but De Paula has already made a case for himself.
He drew two walks in three plate appearances this postseason, and Rosenthal and Woo reported that "De Paula would be the top candidate to take his place as designated hitter in the starting lineup, according to a team source, who spoke anonymously so as to freely discuss the potential decision."
De Paula filled in for Ohtani when the two-way star went on the injured list in September, and he produced. The Dodgers’ top prospect hit .323 in 11 games, with one home run, seven RBIs and an 1.081 OPS.
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