Shohei Ohtani was out of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup again Sunday, missing the series finale against the Washington Nationals and extending his absence to four straight games.
That’s a notable run for a player who, before this stretch, had never sat out more than two consecutive games with the Dodgers. The only other time it happened came April 18-19, 2025, when Ohtani was on the paternity list for the birth of his first child.
This time, the reasons are physical. Ohtani is dealing with lingering left knee soreness, right bicep discomfort and a recent neck issue.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani brought up the neck problem after going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in Wednesday’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
That game clearly stood out, both for the results and for what was happening in the box. Ohtani’s swings looked off, and he was seen shaking his right arm during the loss.
“I saw the same thing that everyone saw,” Roberts said after the loss. “I saw the shaking of the arm, I saw the wincing, and clearly the swings aren’t who he is. Obviously there’s some compensation.”
There was at least a small step forward Saturday night, when Ohtani took swings in the batting cage.
“I’m going to see how he comes in tomorrow. It was good to see during the game he was hitting.
I don’t know what intensity, but the hitting coaches said he was swinging with some intent,” Roberts said. “So we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
Ohtani’s pitching timeline is still murky as well. Roberts said last week that Ohtani had stopped throwing plyo balls and was not playing catch.
Sunday also carried roster implications. It marked the last day the Dodgers could place Ohtani on the injured list without giving back the games he had already missed, since MLB rules allow teams to backdate an IL stint by up to three days.
Roberts has been less committed to that route over the weekend, though he acknowledged the wrinkle that comes with Ohtani being a two-way player. A 15-day IL stint, rather than 10 days, makes the decision a tougher one.
“It’s more of a deterrent,” Roberts said.
He also made clear that Sunday did not have to be the day anything was finalized.
“Yes, we would lose the three back days,” Roberts said. “But also there’s a chance we could almost be in bed with the idea whether it’s six, seven, eight days, it’s better than 10 days if he’s trending in the right direction. … To not lose him for 15 days is meaningful.”
Without Ohtani, the Dodgers’ lineup against Washington was set with Tommy Edman in center field, Mookie Betts at shortstop, Will Smith at catcher, Freddie Freeman at first base, Teoscar Hernández in left field, Kyle Tucker in right field, Miguel Rojas at second base, Max Muncy at designated hitter and Kiké Hernández at third base.
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