Shohei Ohtani has been dealing with some injuries that have kept him off the mound since July 3, but now his swing is starting to look like it's also being impacted.
Ohtani has been dealing with a knee injury and a right biceps issue. The injuries have shut him down from pitching, but he has not complained about it hurting his offense. However, on Wednesday, he struck out four times in four at-bats and Dave Roberts noted that he does not look right.
“I think that tonight was kind of the tip of the iceberg," Roberts said after Wednesday's game, per MLB.com's Sonja Chen. "But I've seen it over the last couple weeks, where he hasn't been who he is.”
Per Chen, Roberts does not think Ohtani will need to go on the injured list. However, some days off are not off the table.
"Is a day or two -- or I mean, shoot, even 10 days, is that going to help get him to be 100%? Don't know the answer," Roberts said. "But I think where we're at, I think he's just going to have to find a way to make do and do the best he can. But what can I do? Have the conversation. Get him off his feet. Kind of try to get some strength back. Get him feeling better, and then run him out there."
The real question is whether the Dodgers can even afford to put him on the injured list. Their offense scored the sixth-fewest runs in baseball in August, and they are not off to the best start in September. Ohtani has been part of the problem, hitting .137 with a .545 OPS in his last 13 games.
However, if they put him on the injured list, they may not even have someone better to replace him. Dalton Rushing could serve as the designated hitter with Ohtani out, but he struggles against lefties and is not the same threat in the lineup that Ohtani is. They could look to call up James Tibbs III, but relying on a rookie while they fight for postseason positioning is less than ideal.
The reality is, the Dodgers do not need the bye to win the World Series. They can 100% afford to place Ohtani on the injured list, but they may not play great. However, it's unlikely they finish lower than the No. 3 seed. They won the World Series as a No. 3 seed last year.
Their rotation is capable of carrying them in October, even without Ohtani. Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are a four-man rotation that no team in the postseason would feel comfortable against.