Roberts: Ohtani’s Health Takes Priority As Dodgers Navigate Final Weeks

Shohei Ohtani is getting a day off. What happens after that is considerably less certain.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Ohtani will take a mental and physical break after appearing increasingly uncomfortable at the plate, with the biceps and neck area becoming an issue during Wednesday night's game.

Roberts said Ohtani's condition will be evaluated again Friday before a decision is made about his availability.

"I don't want to get too far ahead of thinking about IL," Roberts said. "I think for me, it's just kind of a day-to-day situation. And I think we all saw last night, he needed a day."

That assessment came after Ohtani had shown signs of discomfort while hitting. Roberts said the problem appeared to be centered around the biceps and neck region, where Ohtani was not feeling everything the way he normally does.

"It just wasn't firing the way he wanted it to," Roberts said.

That, Roberts explained, was behind some of the grimacing and shaking of Ohtani's arm during the game as he tried to get it to respond properly.

The Dodgers have imaging showing nothing new in the shoulder area, Roberts said, but the symptoms have not been getting better.

"They have not been getting better," Roberts said. "I think over time, taking a lot of swings, the workload is probably not — for everyone, a day off seems like always a good thing to get a day off. And so I think just the accumulation and then not getting better kind of is where we're at last night."

That leaves the Dodgers in a somewhat familiar but increasingly delicate position with their most important player.

Ohtani wants to play.

Great players usually do, Roberts said. They believe they are capable of contributing even when their bodies are telling them otherwise.

The manager's job, however, is to determine when that desire needs to be overridden.

"There is a kind of trusting the player versus taking it out of their hands," Roberts said. "It's just trying to weigh the downside and what potential harm that could do for him and the ballclub."

Roberts was asked whether Ohtani's status could eventually force the Dodgers to put him on the injured list.

"Right now, I would consider it unlikely," Roberts said. "But, you know, not impossible. But day-to-day."

That distinction may be the most important one.

The Dodgers aren't announcing an IL stint, nor are they suggesting that Ohtani's season is in jeopardy. But Roberts acknowledged that the club has reached a point where simply allowing Ohtani to determine when he can play may not be enough.

"I'm either going to play him or not play him based on what's a benefit to the team," Roberts said. "At the end of the day, he wants to be in there, but I'm not going to just put him in there because of the name on the back of his jersey."

That decision could also factor into the Dodgers' plans for Ohtani as a two-way player.

Asked whether the current situation changes his thinking about Ohtani pitching again this season, Roberts was brief.

"It's part of the math," he said.

For now, Roberts said, everything remains open.

The Dodgers are also dealing with other pitching issues, making Ohtani's status even more relevant as they try to navigate the final weeks of the regular season. But Roberts said the immediate concern is simply getting Ohtani feeling better.

The knee that has required drainage therapy earlier in the season does not appear to be the problem at the plate, Roberts said. The discomfort Ohtani experienced Wednesday was more related to the pitching side of his workload, and Roberts said there have been no recent signs that the knee has affected his swing.

The bigger concern is the accumulation.

Ohtani has continued to hit while also working toward a return to the mound, and Roberts acknowledged that the Dodgers now have to be careful about what that workload is costing them.

The good news, at least from Roberts' perspective, is that he remains confident this will not define Ohtani's October.

"I'm very confident that we'll see the guy that we all expect to see," Roberts said.

Getting there, however, may require the Dodgers to make some decisions for Ohtani rather than simply accepting the ones he would make for himself.

For now, that means one day off.

Friday will tell them whether one day is enough.