Dodgers mulling IL stint for Shohei Ohtani as superstar deals with two nagging injuries

Ohtani (0 for 4 with four strikeouts on Wednesday) has not looked like himself recently, and the Dodgers could give him some time off Sep 3, 2026 at 11:55 am ET • 4 min read Nagging knee and biceps injuries have kept Shohei Ohtani off the mound since July 3. Now they might keep him out of the batter's box. Following Wednesday night's loss to the Cardinals (STL 8, LA 6 in 10 innings), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged Ohtani is not 100% physically, and he may get some time off. An injured list stint could be in the cards. "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 (via MLB.com). "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." Ohtani went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts Wednesday night, and shook out his right arm and winced following his fourth at-bat. He is 2 for 32 (.087) with 11 strikeouts in his last six games and Roberts admitted, "I think that (Wednesday) was kind of the tip of the iceberg. But I've seen it over the last couple weeks, where he hasn't been who he is." The hope was Ohtani would return to the mound this past Sunday, but, after throwing a bullpen session last Friday, he was unable to go. It seems the right biceps issue is still bothering him, and Ohtani is receiving regular treatment on his left knee, which is his front (landing) leg when pitching. Things that are keeping him off the mound are bothering him at the plate, too. Shohei slowing downOhtani's second half has not quite looked like his dominant first half in 2026.First halfSecond half.293AVG.250.953OPS.80923Home Runs885 ⅔Innings pitchedN/A1.79ERAN/AThe Dodgers have only two scheduled off-days the rest of the season: Thursday, Sept. 10, and Monday, Sept. 21. They're safely atop the NL West and in postseason position, but they are battling for a top-two seed and a Wild Card Series bye. Here are the top of the National League standings: Brewers: 87-53Braves: 83-57 (4 GB) Dodgers: 82-57 (4 ½ GB)Phillies: 79-61 (8 GB)Los Angeles won the World Series without a Wild Card Series bye last season, but that's no reason to dismiss it this year. You get to skip an entire round, upping your World Series odds automatically, plus it's an extra few days to rest and heal up, something Ohtani certainly appears to need. The Dodgers may not need Ohtani to pitch in the postseason, but they definitely need him to hit. "I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup. If he's upright, he should play. I respect that," Roberts said Wednesday (via MLB.com). "But if he's feeling the way that visibly looks, then really not helping anyone. So that's the conversation I'll have with him." With the exception of Ohtani, the Dodgers are healthy at the top of the rotation, the part they'll need most in October. Injuries at the back of the rotation will create some headaches these last few weeks of the regular season, though it's not anything they won't be able to navigate. Here is their rotation depth chart at the moment: LHP Tarik SkubalRHP Yoshinobu YamamotoRHP Shohei Ohtani (unable to pitch due to knee and biceps issues)LHP Blake SnellRHP Tyler GlasnowRHP Roki Sasaki (out with blister)LHP Eric Lauer (out with elbow inflammation)LHP Justin WrobleskiRHP Emmet SheehanGlasnow, Skubal, Snell, and Yamamoto are an excellent top four heading into the postseason. Sasaki and Wrobleski appear headed for the bullpen roles they filled last postseason again this postseason. Sheehan is currently in Triple-A and could be a factor in some capacity, ditto Gavin Stone, who is pitching in minor-league rehab games as he works his way back from shoulder surgery. Bottom line, the Dodgers need Ohtani to hit more than they need him to pitch, and he hasn't hit to his usual level these last few weeks. Ohtani owns a .237/.336/.456 batting line since Aug. 1, numbers that are very good for most players but are well south of Ohtani's usual output. His .279/.381/.525 season batting line is more than 100 OPS points below his 2023-25 mark. The pitching shutdown and sluggish few weeks at the plate have put Ohtani behind Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong in the NL MVP race. Crow-Armstrong has opened an enormous lead in WAR -- PCA leads MLB with 9.3 WAR, well ahead of second-place Ohtani at 6.8 WAR -- plus he's just been the better, more productive player for close to four months now.Wednesday's loss was L.A.'s sixth in its last eight games. They are 21-24 in their last 45 games and have averaged only 4.13 runs per game during that stretch. It's not just Ohtani who is below expectations at the plate. Freddie Freeman snapped a career-worst 47-game home run drought Wednesday, plus others like Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker are having down years.