The weeklong wait is over.
Shohei Ohtani is back in the Dodgers’ lineup.
After Ohtani missed each of the team’s last four games while managing ongoing injuries to his left knee and right biceps, the two-way star was back in his customary leadoff spot as the club’s designated hitter for Monday’s series opener against the Reds.
It marked Ohtani’s first game since last Wednesday, when his recent break was precipitated by the visible pain he showed while swinging the bat in a season-worst four-strikeout performance.
It will be the start of what the Dodgers hope is a healthier finish to the season for the 32-year-old slugger, who didn’t report any pain during batting cage sessions the previous two days and was nearly used off the bench in Sunday night’s win over the Nationals.
Ohtani’s return came soon enough that the Dodgers didn’t have to place him on the injured list, a move that would have sidelined him until the final couple weeks of the regular season.
While it’s doubtful that Ohtani is, or will get back to, a full 100% health-wise before the end of the year, the Dodgers weren’t convinced an IL stint would have made much of a difference — and are confident that Ohtani’s health should at least trend upward as he returns to play less than a month before the start of the playoffs.
One dynamic that should help: Ohtani is no longer expected to return as a pitcher this season, with manager Dave Roberts saying it’s unlikely that the right-hander (who has not pitched in a game since early July because of his injury problems) will even build up for 1-2 innings in time for the postseason.
“If you’re looking at the calendar, how much he’s thrown in the last week, I think we can all do the math,” Roberts said, after Ohtani was shut down from all throwing activities during his break from the lineup.
Instead, the main priority for the Dodgers will be getting Ohtani’s bat back on track, after he went 6-for-46 in his final 12 games before last week’s absence.
Clearly, his diminishing physical state had some impact on that slump.
But now, after four days of rest, the team is hopeful of getting a resurgent version of the four-time MVP, banking on Ohtani to rebound down the stretch despite an injury-plagued second half.
