Shohei Ohtani is taking another step toward returning for the Dodgers, and the timing matters with October closing in.
Dave Roberts said Ohtani will swing a bat off a tee tomorrow ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, a sign that he is already beginning the process of working back from the injured list.
The Dodgers waited a week before finally putting Ohtani on the IL, and he had already missed six of the club’s last seven games in which he was available because of the injuries that have followed him through the second half of the season. With the postseason only a couple of weeks away, Los Angeles is counting on his return if it wants to keep pushing toward a third straight World Series title.
Ohtani’s season has been shaped by a few different physical issues. The first was a knee injury that shut down his work on the mound starting in July. His final start came July 3, and with so little time left in the season to build him back up, it’s unlikely he will pitch again in 2026.
His pitching problems did not stop there. After the All-Star break, Ohtani said he had also been dealing with a biceps injury. That issue got worse, eventually reaching his neck and leading to his placement on the injured list.
Even with the setbacks, Ohtani’s year on the mound was outstanding before the knee injury knocked him off course. He posted a 1.79 ERA across 14 starts, struck out 95 batters and logged 85.2 innings, enough to put him in the Cy Young conversation.
At the plate, he has still put together a big season by almost any standard. Ohtani has played in 134 games as a hitter and has 30 home runs, giving him six straight seasons with at least that many.
He also has 80 RBIs. His .902 OPS is his lowest since 2022, but it remains a strong number even with the slump that came with the injuries.
That slump has been real. Since Aug. 18, Ohtani has only seven hits in 54 at-bats, with a .529 OPS and a 58 wRC+ over that stretch.
The Dodgers have tried to prepare for this kind of absence. On the mound and in the lineup, they built in options, and trading for All-Star left-hander Tarik Skubal at the deadline gave them another arm even if the move looked like overkill at the time. They also used the open DH spot to call up top prospect Josue De Paula, who made a strong first impression in his debut series against the Miami Marlins.
For now, the hope in Los Angeles is simple: get Ohtani healthy, get him swinging again, and have him ready for the stretch run. The Dodgers have plenty of talent to survive without him, but there’s no question who sits at the center of their chase for another title.
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