Shohei Ohtani was placed on the injured list for the first time in his Los Angeles Dodgers career after left knee injury and right biceps issues finally caught up with him.
The two-way star had been playing through some form of discomfort for a significant portion of the season. It is a major concern for the Dodgers to have their most important player miss time so close to the start of the postseason, but manager Dave Roberts is “very” confident that Ohtani can get to reasonable point of health before October kicks off.
“I think if it were a postseason game tomorrow, he would be in the lineup,” Roberts said when the Dodgers announced Ohtani was going on the IL. “I think that now you’re talking about two weeks, I feel that’s substantial and he’ll be in a much better place than he was today.
“Is he going to be 100%? Probably not. But I do think with this time that we’re taking now, he’ll be in an adequate spot to finish the season and beyond.”
Roberts expressed similar a sentiment earlier this season about Ohtani being able to play through the pain in October. While it did eventually catch up with the 32-year-old and impact his hitting, Ohtani was also still trying to make a comeback on the mound as well.
The fact that Ohtani will be limited to just designated hitter duties is a reason to be optimistic about his health for the remainder of the year.
Roberts is confident that time and Ohtani’s competitive drive will be enough to get Ohtani as close to 100% as possible.
“I think my confidence is with some time, I think the floor was Monday. And I think he’s managed being compromised with the shoulder injury before. The presence in the box, his desire to be out there, I feel very confident that he’ll be back at some point,” Roberts said.
“I don’t know if it’s Friday. We have to make a decision at some point, but I do feel he’ll be ready to go.”
Ohtani is eligible to be activated from the IL on Sept. 23 at the earliest.
Will Shohei Ohtani be ready to hit in the playoffs?
There is a small window of time between Ohtani’s return date and the start of the postseason. The Dodgers can buy themselves a handful more games by securing one of the top two seeds in the National League.
Even then, Ohtani’s readiness with the bat in his hands remains a question. Taking live at-bats while on the injured list and playing in the final week of the season are the limits of the available reps for the left-handed slugger.
“It’s certainly not ideal. I understand that,” Roberts began. “But I do feel that if he were to play six games, and then you get whatever happens to prepare with lives and things like that. The most important thing is him being as healthy as possible, not compromising his swing, and kind of bet on that.”
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