{"id":528,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/528","headline":"Dodgers consider benching Ohtani after 0-2 NLCS start","dek":"Manager Dave Roberts says he will talk with the slumping, injury-hampered superstar about his role ahead of Game 3.","body":"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.\n\n\"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.\"\n\nOhtani 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.\n\nNothing 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.","published_at":"2026-10-13T04:46:28.436033+00:00","source_count":4,"written_from":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Shohei Ohtani Benching Now on Table as Dodgers Weigh Drastic Change","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/shohei-ohtani-benching-now-table-024653767.html"},{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Dodgers having ‘conversation’ to bench Shohei Ohtani amid slump, inury woes in NLCS","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/10/12/sports/dodgers-having-conversation-to-bench-shohei-ohtani-amid-slump-inury-woes-in-nlcs/"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"As Shohei Ohtani struggles, Dodgers will discuss benching superstar in Game 3","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7685422/2026/10/12/shohei-ohtani-playing-benching-dodgers-brewers-mlb-playoffs/"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Dodgers having ‘conversation’ to bench Shohei Ohtani amid slump, inury woes in NLCS","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/dodgers-having-conversation-bench-shohei-024636191.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Dodgers could make shocking Shohei Ohtani decision ahead of NLCS Game 3","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/dodgers-could-shocking-shohei-ohtani-030613747.html"},{"outlet":"MLB.com","publisher":"MLB.com","title":"Dodgers to discuss sitting Ohtani for NLCS Game 3 (report)","url":"https://www.mlb.com/news/shohei-ohtani-status-for-nlcs-game-3-2026"},{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Bench Shohei Ohtani? Dodgers have to consider drastic action with season in danger","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/10/13/sports/why-dodgers-have-to-consider-benching-shohei-ohtani-in-nlcs/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Bench Shohei Ohtani? Dodgers have to consider drastic action with season in danger","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bench-shohei-ohtani-dodgers-consider-042336772.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Dodgers considering benching Shohei Ohtani, per report","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/dodgers-considering-benching-shohei-ohtani-052538681.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Dodgers having ‘conversation’ to bench Shohei Ohtani amid slump, inury woes in NLCS","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/dodgers-having-conversation-bench-shohei-024636676.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Bench Shohei Ohtani? Dodgers have to consider drastic action with season in danger","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bench-shohei-ohtani-dodgers-consider-042336380.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/lo/mysterio/api/d8b63af23c32bdd7830d007e54035be765379583c5fc58652d987b9bd9eea202/lightyear_networkapi/resizefill_w1200_h675%3Bquality_80%3Bformat_webp/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fdodgers_nation_articles_337%2Fbbcb1d7ef73fbfb016f939b808d9228c.jpg","credit":"Yahoo Sports","width":1200},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}