The Los Angeles Dodgers are mulling whether to place Shohei Ohtani on the injured list after another discouraging performance in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, September 2.
Ohtani went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts last night against the Cardinals. He’s hitting .237 with a 28.2% strikeout rate since the beginning of August.
“I saw the same thing that everyone saw,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game, including Katie Woo of The Athletic. “Clearly the swings aren’t who he is.”
Roberts added that the team will consult with Ohtani about sitting out on Thursday in the final game of the series versus St. Louis. The skipper was noncommittal about a potential stint on the injured list for the two-way star.
“He feels he needs to post … and I respect that,” Roberts said, per Woo. “But if he’s feeling the way he visibly looks, then really not helping anyone. That’s the conversation I’ll have with him.”
Los Angeles Dodgers Expected to Keep Shohei Ohtani Out of the Lineup, IL Stint a Possibility
The power has been there for Ohtani recently, but the strikeouts are piling up. He popped six home runs in August. It came with 33 strikeouts in 108 at-bats. Ohtani had 11 multi-strikeout games in the month. Despite the power, the slugger finished the month with a sub-.800 OPS for the first time this season (excluding March).
The four-strikeout game last night punctuated the rough stretch for Ohtani. Roberts described it as the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to Ohtani’s recent performance, relayed by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
The Dodgers have dropped the first two games of the series against the Cardinals. After a six-game winning streak midway through August, the club has now lost six of its last eight games. Los Angeles has fallen behind the Atlanta Braves for a first-round bye in the National League. The Milwaukee Brewers currently sit atop the standings, four games clear of the Braves and four and a half games ahead of the Dodgers.
Will Ohtani Pitch Again This Season?
Ohtani hasn’t been on a big-league mound since early July. He dealt with a knee injury that flared up when he tried to pitch. The righty has been working his way back into pitching shape. There was a report that he would open for Tyler Glasnow against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, August 30. That never came to fruition. Glasnow dominated over seven innings of one-run ball. Ohtani went 0-for-5 as the DH.
With less than a month remaining in the regular season, Ohtani is running out of time to make his return to the mound. Since he’s a crucial part of the Dodgers’ hitting lineup, he can’t go on a minor league rehab assignment to build up his pitch count. He’s stuck trying to get back into form as a pitcher while on the big-league roster.
Dodgers Consider IL Stint for Shohei Ohtani After 4-Strikeout Game