Dodgers Patch DH With 8 Players as Shohei Ohtani Nears 3rd Straight Absence

Q: Will the Dodgers' gamble to avoid the 15-day IL cost them their two-way superstar for the crucial postseason stretch?

Yes — if Ohtani’s symptoms linger for even a few more days, the Dodgers’ choice to avoid the 15-day IL could hurt them more than help. The risk is not just losing him for regular-season games; it is letting multiple injuries — left knee, right biceps and neck — drag into the final weeks without real recovery time. Roberts has already acknowledged there is no firm return timeline, and Ohtani’s recent production suggests he has not been close to full strength: since restarting his throwing program on Aug. 8, he is hitting .204 with a .704 OPS and 32 strikeouts. That matters because the Dodgers need his bat healthy at least as much as they need his arm. The argument for waiting is understandable. As a two-way player, Ohtani can only go on the 15-day IL, and because he has already missed three days, Los Angeles cannot backdate beyond that. If he rebounds quickly, keeping him active avoids locking him out for two full weeks and preserves flexibility in a tight race for postseason seeding. But the larger calculation points the other way. Every day the Dodgers delay an IL decision while Ohtani remains unavailable leaves them effectively short-handed and reduces the time for a clean reset before October. With a strong rotation already in place, his offensive health is the priority. If Saturday’s hitting work does not lead to a near-immediate return, the prudent move is rest now to protect the postseason rather than gamble on day-to-day improvement.

3 articles · Updated · True Blue LA · Sep 6

Eight Dodgers have covered 13 designated-hitter starts without Ohtani, combining to hit .276/.344/.534 with three homers in 64 plate appearances.
Ohtani’s absence looms larger because he has produced .279/.382/.526 with 30 home runs across 128 starts at DH, making his bat central to Los Angeles’ postseason plans.
Alex Call started at DH against left-handed starters the last two nights, while Dalton Rushing has appeared in all four games since Tuesday and is hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts.
The stopgap plan comes as Ohtani was in line to miss a third straight game Saturday, with the Dodgers later considering a 15-day injured-list stint amid multiple lingering ailments.