Los Angeles Dodgers fans may need to say goodbye to pitcher Shohei Ohtani for the rest of the year.
Ohtani’s struggles at the plate continued Monday as he returned from a four-game absence against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. The MVP slugger went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in a 6-3 win.
After the game, Ohtani told reporters through his interpreter that he planned to focus primarily on hitting for the rest of the year, all but confirming that he will not try for a comeback as a pitcher this season. The two-way superstar has not pitched since July 3 due to lingering bicep and knee injuries.
Last month, the Dodgers sounded much more encouraged about Ohtani’s recovery progress as a pitcher. The team was even providing target return dates until Shohei suffered a setback during his rehab.
Ohtani has been fantastic as a pitcher this season, posting a 1.79 ERA and 0.95 WHIP across 14 starts with an 8-2 record.
With Ohtani mired in a hitting slump, both he and the Dodgers may have felt that having him focus on one side of his game is better than him playing while compromised in both.
It’s worth noting that Ohtani also pitched in just 14 regular-season games last year, but went on to make four postseason starts. He even had arguably the greatest playoff performance in modern MLB history in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Since August 19, Ohtani has gone just 6-for-49 (.122) at the plate without a home run or RBI in 13 games.
