Manager Dave Roberts says he will talk with the slumping, injury-hampered superstar about his role ahead of Game 3.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are down 0-2 in the NLCS, and now they are openly discussing sitting Shohei Ohtani. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed after the Game 2 loss that he plans to have a conversation with Ohtani about what comes next.
"Yeah, I mean obviously it hasn't been good," Roberts said to The Athletic. "He doesn't feel great. I think for me, it's having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what's best for him, what's best for us." Roberts added that Ohtani "certainly has earned that conversation and deserves it."
Ohtani is playing through neck, bicep, and knee injuries, and the toll shows at the plate. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Game 2. The struggles have been building, and the Dodgers now find themselves weighing whether their biggest star should keep starting while the bats stay cold and the series slips away.
Nothing is official. Benching a player of Ohtani's stature is not a decision made lightly or quickly, and the Dodgers have made no formal call yet. The conversation Roberts described will shape how Los Angeles approaches Game 3 as they try to claw back into the series.