On Tuesday night, Dave Roberts was definitive when asked about Shohei Ohtani’s status for Wednesday:
“He’ll be in the lineup tomorrow.”
But, when the team’s lineup dropped Wednesday afternoon, the two-way star was yet again nowhere to be found.
Instead, Ohtani was absent from the Dodgers’ batting order for the sixth time in the last seven games. His latest off day was perhaps the most alarming, given Roberts’ insistence he would be back in the night before.
Ohtani’s health status has become a growing concern for the Dodgers over the last week, dating back to a four-strikeout game last Wednesday in which he showed visible signs of pain at the plate amid his ongoing left knee and right arm injuries.
The day after that game, Ohtani missed the first of four straight contests while the team gave his body an extended period of rest.
Ohtani returned to the lineup on Monday, going 0-for-3 while drawing a walk.
And while he was out again on Tuesday, Roberts described that move as more of a form of “load management,” saying the team would look for more opportunities to give him days off down the stretch.
However, Roberts insisted the two-way star — who has already been effectively shut down from pitching for the rest of the year — was available off the bench late in that night’s contest.
He also indicated Ohtani would return for Wednesday’s series finale against the Cincinnati Reds, expected to get a start before the team’s scheduled off day on Thursday.
Now, more questions abound about Ohtani’s availability.
It wasn’t immediately clear why he had been held out on Wednesday, with Roberts scheduled to address reporters later in the afternoon.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
