The Dodgers advanced to the NLCS without much help from their best player.
Shohei Ohtani’s struggles at the plate since returning from an injury in September have been well documented. He hasn’t hit a home run since then, has produced one RBI and had a brutal .154 OPS during the Dodgers’ four-game NLDS against the Braves.
Yet, this is Shohei Ohtani — one of the greatest players in the sport’s history.
It’s a matter of when, not if, Ohtani is going to turn things around. And this should scare the other teams still playing baseball this season.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman indicated as much with a comment on Wednesday night.
“At some point, it’s going to click for him. And the other [teams are] going to be in big trouble when that happens,” Friedman said of Ohtani.
All it might take is one pitch or one good swing for Ohtani to begin feeling like himself. Perhaps that will happen in the NLCS against the Brewers. Perhaps it will happen if the Dodgers advance to the World Series.
But Ohtani is too good for this slump to persist much longer. And when he does turn things around, Los Angeles’ already elite offense will get its anchor back.
