Will Shohei Ohtani Be Back In Time For Dodgers Postseason Run?
The Los Angeles Dodgers are going for a three-peat this season, but Shohei Ohtani’s injuries have dampened their dominance as of late.
Ohtani is dealing with knee and biceps injuries that have essentially ended his season as a pitcher. However, ever since he started a throwing progression to get back on the mound, his offense has taken a dive. The fear was that his push to return to the mound was hurting his hitting. The Dodgers responded by giving him some days off and pretty much shutting him down from throwing.
However, after keeping him out of the lineup in six of the last seven games, the team announced that he would go on the injured list. He is a two-way player, so he must go on the 15-day injured list. The earliest he can return is Sept. 23. Dave Roberts expects a minimal stay on the injured list.
“I do think that if the playoffs were tomorrow, he’d be in the lineup,” Roberts said of Ohtani, per The Athletic’s Katie Woo. “And so now knowing that there’s got to be some at-bats taken before the playoffs, and he understands that. So I’m pretty confident that he’ll be ready to go on that 15th day.”
The wild card round starts on Sept. 29, so even if the Dodgers are playing in a best-of-three series, they should have Ohtani. In fact, he should have time to get in some games and get some at-bats as well if the Dodgers want him to do that.
The Dodgers could play it safe and keep him on the injured list until the postseason actually starts, trusting that he is good enough to be ready for postseason action after just taking live batting practice and hitting off a machine. Regardless, it does not sound like his postseason status is in jeopardy.
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