LOS ANGELES -- As lingering injuries began to take their toll on Shohei Ohtani during the regular season, the Dodgers frequently returned to the same refrain: What mattered most was him feeling the best he could in October.
Coming off extended rest from his time on the IL and the bye during the Wild Card round, Ohtani neither performed nor looked like he was feeling as good as he could during the postseason run. He broke out with his first homer in nearly two months in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series, but it was too little, too late as the Dodgers' season came to an abrupt end in a sweep at the hands of the Brewers last Thursday.
Ohtani was one of several L.A. hitters going through an ill-timed slump, but his ongoing right biceps and left knee injuries could have been managed better by the Dodgers, and perhaps himself. Learning from what went wrong this year will be critical as Ohtani plans to return to a full two-way role for the 2027 season.
"I haven't been able to really come to grip in terms of what I've learned overall this season," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton following the Dodgers' elimination. "It's something that I'm going to kind of go back to the drawing board in terms of treatment, training program, and see what I can come up with for next season."
There is no blueprint for handling a two-way player, so the Dodgers have had to rely heavily on conversations with Ohtani to manage his workload and his health. But as is common with star players, the team had to take Ohtani's self-assessment with a grain of salt.
"The communication back and forth has been awesome," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said after Ohtani came off the IL. "The fully sharing exactly how he's feeling, maybe not as awesome."
The Dodgers were proactive with Ohtani's health at times, separating his pitching and hitting workloads or giving him a full day off after his starts on the mound. But they did not skip his pitching starts or place him on the IL until it became abundantly clear that he was physically compromised.
Here's a timeline of some of the key injury-related events from Ohtani's 2026 season, including some of the inflection points where the Dodgers could have acted differently:
June 11: Ohtani exits with left knee inflammation
Ohtani's knee injury first became public knowledge the night after a start on the mound in Pittsburgh. The Dodgers initially believed he aggravated his knee on a stolen-base attempt, but Ohtani later said that something awry with his pitching mechanics may have been the cause.
July 3: Ohtani exits with right biceps tightness
Ohtani made a quality start on the mound, but he was later pinch-hit for due to biceps discomfort that he said had also bothered him "a couple months ago." This was Ohtani's final pitching start of the season. After recording a 0.74 ERA through his first 10 starts, he recorded a 4.38 ERA through his last four starts, which all came while he was dealing with the knee injury.
July 19: Ohtani out of rotation indefinitely
Citing his ongoing knee irritation, the Dodgers scratched Ohtani from his scheduled final first-half start on July 10. They were hopeful that he would make his first start after the All-Star break after receiving a lubricating Orthovisc injection, but they changed their plans after he continued to experience knee discomfort.
July 25: Ohtani shut down from throwing
Three days after Ohtani threw a full bullpen session in Philadelphia -- which seemed to take some Dodgers personnel by surprise -- he was indefinitely shut down from throwing due to regression with his knee.
Aug. 8: Ohtani starts throwing progression
After going more than two weeks without throwing, Ohtani started playing catch to begin a ramp up to get back on the mound. He seemed to be making linear progress, advancing to a bullpen session on Aug. 14 and facing hitters on Aug. 23. But this is when his production as a hitter began to drop off, as he hit .205 with a .666 OPS through his final 29 regular-season games beginning on Aug. 8.
Aug. 29: Ohtani's return to mound pushed back
The Dodgers had been hopeful that they could have Ohtani throw an inning in a game as soon as Aug. 30. Instead, an ill-fated Aug. 28 bullpen session prompted them to reevaluate his pitching plan.
Sept. 3: Ohtani misses the first of four straight games
After a game where Ohtani looked particularly physically compromised at the plate, the Dodgers decided to rest him indefinitely. They went back and forth about whether putting him on the IL made sense, with general manager Brandon Gomes saying it "hasn't even been something that we've discussed" on Sept. 3. When Ohtani returned to the lineup on Sept. 7, he said he would focus exclusively on hitting for the rest of the season, the first definitive comments from him or the team on whether he would pitch again in 2026.
Sept. 11: Ohtani placed on 15-day IL
After missing six of the Dodgers' previous seven games, Ohtani was placed on the IL. Manager Dave Roberts admitted that, with the benefit of hindsight, he would have preferred to have put him on the IL earlier. Ohtani was sidelined for a minimum-length stint and returned for the final five games of the regular season.
Oct. 13: Dodgers discuss sitting Ohtani in NLCS Game 3
Ohtani went 3-for-20 with no extra-base hits through his first six postseason games, leading the top Dodgers brass to have a conversation with Ohtani about whether he should play in NLCS Game 3. Ohtani convinced them that he felt good enough to play -- and indeed, looked better in Games 3 and 4. But his brief turnaround did not change things for the Dodgers.
If anything could have changed how the season ended for Ohtani, it may have been more proactivity back when his injury saga began.