The two-time reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers have a Shohei Ohtani problem. That seems an absurd thing to say about the two-way phenomenon who's won four MVP awards in the last five seasons, but that's the reality for the Dodgers as they trail the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0 in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. Ohtani hasn't pitched since July 3, when he was pulled from his start against the Padres because of left knee discomfort and soreness in his right biceps.
Those injuries kept him out of the All-Star Game and won't allow him to pitch in the postseason. For Ohtani and the Dodgers, though, the current concern is how those injuries are affecting him at the plate. The concern is such that the Dodgers and manager Dave Roberts may be pondering the heretofore unthinkable: benching Ohtani with the season on the line.
"Yeah, I mean, obviously it hasn't been good," Roberts told reporters following the Dodgers' 7-4 loss to the Brewers in Game 2. I think for me, it's having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what's best for him, what's best for us. He certainly has earned that conversation and deserves it.
I'll have [that conversation] with him tomorrow." If the Dodgers do decide to sit Ohtani for Wednesday's Game 3, 21-year-old rookie outfielder Josue De Paula would be the likely choice to replace him in the lineup, according to The Athletic. The Dodgers would take such drastic measures, ESPN reports, only if Ohtani is so hindered by those knee and biceps issues that he doesn't feel healthy enough to play. As the Dodgers prepare for what is in essence a must-win Game 3 back in Los Angeles, it's worth exploring this emerging dilemma a bit more closely.
Let's do that now with three things to know about the big decision facing Ohtani, Roberts, and the club trying to become the first since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees to win three straight World Series. Through six games and 24 plate appearances this postseason, Ohtani is batting a meager .150/.261/.150 with no extra-base hits and seven strikeouts against three walks. Dipping back into the regular season, Ohtani hasn't homered since Aug. 18.
Over that homer-less stretch, which includes a stint on the injured list, and looping in the playoffs, he's batted .156/.283/.200 in his last 107 plate appearances. The underlying worry is that this is more than just a run of bad luck, as Ohtani's quality of contact off the bat has also cratered in recent weeks. Let's take a look at those declines with the date of his last home run, Aug. 17, as the dividing line: Barrel rate is the percentage of balls that leave the bat at the ideal exit velocities and launch angle ranges for power production.
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