This former All-Star just revealed why Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is struggling offensively

With Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani going through offensive woes in the 2026 season, the baseball world has been trying to figure out what has been contributing to the slump. As some could point to the Dodgers star in Ohtani with his two-way role being a factor in the slump, this former player pinpoints where the star is struggling.Former Cincinnati Reds star Joey Votto would speak on MLB Now about Ohtani and believes the star will come back to his usual production once he adjusts to specific pitches that he's been middling against.“There's something going on, in my opinion, watching his atbats, I see something, and I know for a fact he's light years ahead of everybody that's commented on what he's doing at the plate, but to me it's as simple as the up-and-away pitch, the middle-up pitch, and the away pitch, those are the pitches that you want deeper in the zone,” Votto said.“You have to be able to back the ball up in your swing, and in past years, and certainly last September, he showed that that is that is a strength of his when he's at his very best, and in 2026 maybe it's a slight adjustment, maybe it's early, maybe it's small sample size, maybe it's the new responsibility of being the very best pitcher or the 1B best pitcher in all of Major League Baseball,” Votto continued. "There's absolutely nothing going on other than a slight targeting issue…"@JoeyVotto describes what he's seeing during Shohei Ohtani's at-bats and explains what could be keeping him from elite production. pic.twitter.com/kzvOwi4cPK — MLB Now (@MLBNow) May 15, 2026Joey Votto says Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is dealing with a ‘targeting issue'So far this season with the Dodgers, Ohtani is hitting a .240 batting average to go along with seven home runs and 17 RBIs in 39 games. For Votto, Ohtani's problem right now is “a slight targeting issue.”“So there's absolutely nothing going on other than a slight targeting issue, and I think that he's just been a bit too close to him in terms of his targeting, and once he starts dominating and owning that up-pitch and that up-and-away pitch. All of a sudden, the ball gets deeper in the zone,” Votto said.It remains to be seen when Ohtani turns it around offensively.With Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani going through offensive woes in the 2026 season, the baseball world has been trying to figure out what has been contributing to the slump. As some could point to the Dodgers star in Ohtani with his two-way role being a factor in the slump, this former player pinpoints where the star is struggling.