Shohei Ohtani came into Wednesday, September 3rd carrying a .906 OPS at the plate and a 1.79 ERA across 14 starts on the mound. He left it going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts — the first time all season he’d punched out four times in a single game — and after his final at-bat he shook out his right arm and grimaced like a man fighting through something he didn’t want to admit out loud. The Dodgers kept him out of the lineup Thursday and Friday, and the question nobody in the organization wants to answer on the record is: how long will he be out, and is he actually going to pitch in October?
What Roberts Saw from the Dugout
Dave Roberts didn’t need a medical report. After the 8-6, ten-inning loss to the Cardinals, he was direct in his postgame press conference: «I saw what everyone saw. I’m going to talk to him and try to understand where he is physically. Because yes, I saw him shaking his arm. I saw the grimace. Clearly his swings aren’t him — there’s obviously some compensation going on.»
Roberts texted Ohtani that same night to let him know he wasn’t in the lineup Thursday. Ohtani replied with a wave emoji. By Friday he wasn’t available even for a late-inning emergency appearance, and according to reports he didn’t participate in any baseball activities on either day.
Three Things Hurting at the Same Time
Ohtani told the training staff that his right biceps and neck have been bothering him — issues that haven’t improved over the past few weeks. That’s on top of the left knee that knocked him off the mound on July 3rd and still isn’t fully resolved. Three different parts of the body, all at once. That combination explains why a bullpen session the previous Friday had already raised flags: Roberts said at the time that Ohtani’s body «in general» was «not at one hundred percent.»
The front office took note but held off on any formal decisions. When Roberts was asked directly about the injured list on Thursday, he said placing Ohtani on it was «unlikely for now.» GM Brandon Gomes went further, saying they hadn’t even discussed the option. Day-to-day, no IL move yet, everything open.
What is closed is the original plan: Ohtani was supposed to make three or four September starts to arrive sharp for the playoffs. That schedule — confirmed by multiple sources in early August — is now in serious jeopardy. According to MLB.com, even the goal of a five-inning start looks hard to sustain given his active injuries.
What’s at Stake for Los Angeles
The Dodgers acquired Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline and have Blake Snell coming back from injury, so the rotation has depth. But Ohtani the pitcher isn’t replaceable by committee: across his 14 starts and 85.2 innings in 2026, he averaged 97.8 mph on his fastball, struck out 27.9% of batters faced, and held hitters to a .180 batting average. A 1.79 ERA doesn’t get replaced by any trade deadline move.
As a hitter, the Statcast numbers make it equally clear what the Dodgers lose when he’s not in the lineup. His 93.2 mph average exit velocity ranks in the 97th percentile across all of MLB, and his 15.8% barrel rate sits at the 96th percentile. The problem isn’t talent — it’s that the talent is managing three separate physical issues simultaneously while the Dodgers stare down 25 games remaining on the calendar.
Ohtani hasn’t spoken to the press since August 17th in Colorado. The franchise hasn’t set a return date. The most honest statement the organization has made is simply keeping him out of the lineup two nights in a row — and that decision says more than any official update could.
The Numbers Behind Both Versions of Ohtani
Ohtani plays both sides of the game, and Statcast tracks him on both. His full 2026 numbers:
At the Plate
- 592 plate appearances in 2026
- 30 home runs, 80 RBI
- AVG: .279
- OPS: .906
- xwOBA: .401 (expected production based on quality of contact — 99th percentile)
- Average exit velocity: 93.2 mph (97th percentile)
- Barrel rate: 15.8% (96th percentile)
- Hard-hit rate: 51.7% — balls hit 95 mph or harder (95th percentile)
- Average bat speed: 74.6 mph (79th percentile)
On the Mound
- 14 starts, 85.2 innings pitched in 2026
- ERA: 1.79 · WHIP: 0.95
- 95 strikeouts, 26 walks (27.9% strikeout rate)
- xERA: 2.73 (expected ERA based on contact quality allowed — 94th percentile)
- Average fastball: 97.8 mph with 2,459 rpm spin rate (93rd percentile velocity, 89th percentile spin)
- Whiff rate: 30.4% of swings miss (85th percentile)
- Opponent batting average: .180
- Average exit velocity allowed: 87.4 mph — the lower, the softer the contact
- Barrel rate allowed: 3.8% (94th percentile barrels avoided)
