Shohei Ohtani’s availability for NLCS Game 3 hinges on his health, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts planning to speak with the two-way star during Tuesday’s workout to determine whether he should play. Ohtani has been playing through a left knee injury and a right biceps issue, and his production has sharply declined over the past two months.
Los Angeles trails the Milwaukee Brewers 0-2 in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series after a 7-4 loss in Game 2. Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in that game, extending a postseason slump that has become central to the Dodgers’ thinking about his role in the series.
What The Team Has Said About Ohtani’s Status
Roberts did not announce a specific injury status when discussing Ohtani’s situation, but he was direct about the toll his lingering issues have taken. Roberts told The Athletic that Ohtani “doesn’t feel great” and that he would have “a conversation” with the star on Tuesday to “try to figure out what’s best for him, what’s best for us. He certainly has earned that conversation and deserves it.”
The Dodgers will use that conversation to gauge whether Ohtani’s knee and biceps problems warrant benching him, according to ESPN. If Ohtani deems himself healthy, the team plans to continue playing him.s knee and biceps problems warrant sitting him for Game 3. If Ohtani tells the team he feels capable of playing, the Dodgers plan to keep running him out there. Ohtani was placed on the 15-day injured list in mid-September for the same knee and biceps concerns, and Roberts has already adjusted his role in the batting order, dropping him from the top two spots to fourth or fifth in recent games.
Who Replaces Ohtani If He Sits
No benching has been confirmed. If Ohtani does not play Game 3, rookie Josue De Paula would likely step in as designated hitter, according to MLB Trade Rumors and Sporting News. De Paula, 21, has already carved out a postseason roster spot for Los Angeles this October.
Ohtani’s Season And Postseason Numbers
The slump has been building for weeks. Ohtani did not homer in his final 18 games of the regular season, and he has not gone deep since Aug. 18. Over the past eight weeks he is slashing .156/.283/.200, a steep drop from the production that made him an MVP-caliber force for most of the year.
The postseason version has been just as limited. Ohtani is 3-for-20 with three walks and seven strikeouts through six playoff games, all three hits singles for a .150/.261/.150 slash line. Shortstop Mookie Betts expressed his support: “It’s hard to see.
He’s working, and hopefully he gets out of it. We know he’s working. Yeah, that’s a big one.
We need him for sure.”
What’s Next For The Dodgers
Los Angeles faces an immediate must-win scenario after dropping the first two games of the series, detailed in the recap of Brewers 7-4 win in Game 2. Roberts said the conversation with Ohtani would happen at Tuesday’s workout, with a lineup decision expected to follow ahead of Game 3. The Dodgers have not said whether that update will come before first pitch or closer to game time.
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