Shohei Ohtani is officially back for the Los Angeles Dodgers. We just don’t really know what that means yet.
We do know Ohtani won’t be pitching again in 2026. We know he just completed the first injured stint list of his Dodgers career. We know he has been dealing with a knee issue and a biceps issue going back to July 3, the last time he fulfilled his two-way player duties.
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But what Ohtani will be going forward, with outcomes from ranging from a singular superstar to the .119/.275/.190 hitter in the 11 games before hitting the IL? That is still up in the air.
Which isn’t ideal when the postseason is now four games away.
Ohtani was activated from the 15-day IL on Wednesday, with something already changed. For the first time since June 16, 2024, he occupied a batting order spot other than leadoff. Such things can happen in the span of an IL stint, especially when Mookie Betts is playing well enough the Dodgers might be hesitant to change much.
Via MLB.com, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated the leadoff spot could be a platoon, with Betts up first against left-handers and Ohtani against right-handers. Left-hander Robbie Ray was the starting pitcher for the Padres on Wednesday.
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Ohtani began his night with a welcome-back hit and followed it up with a walk.
His most important at-bat came in the fourth inning, with the bases loaded, two outs and a one-run deficit. He seemingly drew the game-tying walk, but Padres catcher Ethan Salas challenged the ball call overturned by a slim margin. Ohtani fouled off the next two pitches, then struck out to end the inning and the Dodgers’ best chance to make it a game.
Dodger Stadium was ready to explode in his next plate appearance, when he sent a fly ball into deep center field. Dodgers play-by-play man Joe Davis seemed ready for the “majestic fly ball” to go over the fences, but it came up just short at the warning track.
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The optimistic look at that is Ohtani is hitting deep fly balls in his first game back — his 103.4 mph exit velocity was his hardest contact in more than five weeks.. The pessimistic looks is that those are the kind of balls Ohtani is supposed to bounce off the batter’s eye.
Ohtani’s day overall: 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts in a 7-2 Padres win.
The Dodgers have entered the postseason with unanswered questions before. In 2024, they had a rotation so thin they resorted to a bullpen game when facing elimination against the Padres. In 2025, their bullpen was so suspect that they only used starting pitchers by trade in Game 7 of the World Series.
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Ohtani has never been that kind of unknown, though. He was the unanimous MVP in both of those seasons. This time it’s a bit different, and not just because Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has run away with the MVP award, The Dodgers have said he is feeling much better than when he was scuffling pre-IL, but, well, optimistic health outlooks have gone sideways with this team before.
Ohtani at least has four more games to show what he can do before the end of the regular season, then a few days of rest with the Dodgers on track for a wild-card bye. And even with some pains, there’s no doubting his place on this team. Barring disaster, he will be hitting in big spots for the Dodgers in the postseason.
Again, we just don’t know how much that will help the Dodgers, who went 8-3 in Ohtani’s absence while young phenom Josue De Paula slashed .323/.500/.581 and showcased the toolbox that has arguably made him the best hitting prospect in baseball. De Paula’s demotion to Triple-A was the corresponding move for Ohtani due to clerical reasons more than merit.
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