On the bright side, the Dodgers aren’t forcing Shohei Ohtani back on the field before he is ready. On the other, well, they don’t have Ohtani for at least another game.
Ohtani was kept out of the Dodgers’ lineup again on Sunday, extending the two-way player’s absence to four games. In his place, Max Muncy will be the designated hitter for the Dodgers’ series finale against the Nationals.
The Dodgers now have to decide whether to place Ohtani on the injured list.
Under Major League Baseball’s rules, IL stints can be backdated by as many as three days. So, if, say, Ohtani is placed on the IL on Sunday, the three games he already missed would be credited toward the minimum number of days he would have been forced to be on the IL. Anything beyond that wouldn’t count.
That is of particular importance to Ohtani. Because he is officially classified as a two-way player, he would have to be sidelined for 15 days if he is placed on the injured list. IL stints are 10 days for position players, and 15 days for pitchers.
Ohtani last played on Wednesday, when he was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in an extra-innings loss to the Cardinals.
Known to be dealing with biceps problems in recent months, Ohtani was seen shaking his arm during and after his final at-bat of the game. The same left knee that was said to be responsible for his absence from the mound also appeared to limit him, as he couldn’t stay back on pitches or generate power with the lower half of his body.
Ohtani had six hits in his last 46 at-bats and has homered only once in his last 21 games played outside of hitter-friendly Coors Field in Denver.
Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani hit in the team’s indoor batting cages on Saturday night.
“During the game, all game, I think he was hitting,” Roberts said. “I don’t know what intensity, but the hitting coaches said that he was swinging with some intent.”
