LOS ANGELES -- After a four-game absence while managing lingering physical concerns, Shohei Ohtani returned to the Dodgers' lineup for Monday night's series opener against the Reds, batting leadoff as the designated hitter.
The Dodgers won all four games without Ohtani, including a sweep of the Nationals over the weekend.
Ohtani has dealt with health issues since June, including left knee soreness that has been the primary reason that he has not pitched since July 3. A right biceps issue first affected him as a hitter, then went on to affect his pitching ramp-up. He showed visible discomfort in the previous game he started on Wednesday, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
"I think that what happens is when a player gets taxed physically, the [mental side] is affected as well," manager Dave Roberts said. "I think we got to a point where it all sort of came to a head, where I do think these last four days, giving his body a reset, giving his mind a reset -- anything can happen tonight as far as performance, but I'm hoping that he's just in a better state body and mind tonight."
The Dodgers felt that they saw enough progress from Ohtani in the past four days to bring him back as a hitter, but he is highly unlikely to return to pitching this season. Not only is Ohtani running out of time to ramp back up on the mound, but the deterioration of Ohtani's health and performance seemed to coincide with his buildup as a pitcher.
Between when he started a throwing program on Aug. 8 and last Wednesday, Ohtani hit .204 (19-for-93) with a .704 OPS. He struck out 32 times in that span. Overall this season, Ohtani has a .906 OPS with 30 homers and a 1.79 ERA in 14 pitching starts.
While the Dodgers have not officially ruled out Ohtani's return to pitching, they are hopeful that having him focus solely on hitting will free him up at the plate.
"That's one part of the thought," Roberts said, "to sort of take the pitching off of his plate and really try to let him lock in on being a hitter and get on track. Because the last couple of weeks, he just hasn't been himself in the box."
Here are three other things to watch with Ohtani in the near future:
Will he play every day moving forward?
The Dodgers will look to see how Ohtani comes out of his first game back before deciding how his playing time looks going forward. Ohtani, like most superstars, is never going to willingly take himself out of a game, so L.A. may have to be more proactive in the interest of keeping him fresh for the postseason.
"I don’t want to say it’s day to day," Roberts said, "but I am very curious to see how he comes out of tonight to then make the decision for tomorrow and ensuing days."
Will he remain in the leadoff spot?
Tommy Edman did an admirable job of filling in for Ohtani in the leadoff spot, going 7-for-17 (.412) with five runs scored and four RBIs. But for the Dodgers, there was no question of slotting Ohtani back into his usual place atop the order -- as long as he performs, at least.
"I think he’s our best hitter. I think the best player should have the most latitude. That’s part of my thought," Roberts said. "Is it forever? I don’t know. Is it until the end of the season? I don’t know yet."
Will exclusively hitting mean he's more active on the basepaths?
When Ohtani was limited to DH duties while recovering from a second major elbow surgery in 2024, he made history by creating the 50-50 club. He continued to run early in '25, swiping nine bags in March and April, but cut down on his attempts once his pitching progression intensified. Ohtani has stolen no more than four bases in a single month this year, but perhaps he will run more now that his pitching is on hold.
"Obviously, he's not going to be on the mound in the foreseeable future," Roberts said. "When he's not pitching, not worrying about conserving energy, yeah, he's more active on the bases. I could see that happening."