Ohtani Returns From Injured List, Dodgers Admit He's Not at Full Strength With Playoffs Days Away

Shohei Ohtani played his first game in more than two weeks on Wednesday, going 1-for-4 with a single, a walk and two strikeouts as the Dodgers' designated hitter in a 5-1 loss to the San Diego Padres, according to the Associated Press. The loss cost Los Angeles a chance to clinch a first-round playoff bye, the LA Times reported.

Ohtani had been on the 15-day injured list since Sept. 11, retroactive to Sept. 8, with right biceps inflammation, according to CBS Sports. That capped a stretch of nearly two months in which he played through injuries to his left knee, right biceps and neck rather than sit out entirely.

How it got to this point

The knee injury forced the Dodgers to pull Ohtani from the starting rotation in early July, according to Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, cited by the New York Post. He hadn't pitched in a game since July 3. On Sept. 8, Ohtani told reporters he would "most likely" not pitch again in 2026, according to Bleacher Report, ending a season in which he'd gone 8-2 with a career-low 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85.2 innings across 14 starts.

Even as the pitching shut down, the Dodgers kept running him out as their everyday DH. That decision looks worse in hindsight. Over his last 30 games before landing on the IL, Ohtani hit .231 with a .777 OPS, six home runs and 39 strikeouts in 117 at-bats, according to Sports Illustrated. CBS Sports reported an even uglier final stretch: a 6-for-52 slide in his last 13 games, with zero home runs and 21 strikeouts.

Friedman said the team checked in with Ohtani "on a daily basis, a weekly basis" throughout the ordeal, and that every time the club raised the idea of scaling him back, "his answer has been whatever it takes to help the team win." Friedman didn't second-guess that arrangement. But he did flag one issue. "He's not always the best reporter of how he feels."

If a $700-million-caliber franchise player is telling the team he's fine while his production is collapsing, and the front office is relying partly on his self-reporting to make a call, that's a real gap in the process. Friedman didn't dodge it. He also didn't pretend it was fully resolved, saying only that Ohtani now "feels back to where he was earlier in the year, which is great" while adding, "there's no question the injuries affected him."

The numbers and the runway

On the season, Ohtani is hitting .277/.380/.522 with a 146 OPS+, 30 home runs, 80 RBI, 89 runs and 11 stolen bases, per CBS Sports. Those are strong numbers by any normal standard, but well off his pace from 2024 (54 homers, 130 RBI, 59 steals) and 2025 (a career-high 55 homers), according to Bleacher Report. The drop-off has real implications for the NL MVP race too, where Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is slashing .281/.376/.577 with 41 homers, 97 RBI and 35 steals.

Manager Dave Roberts described Ohtani's improvement in blunt terms before the activation: "If he was a 5 before, he's probably an 8 or 9 now," he said, according to CBS Sports. After Wednesday's game, Roberts was more direct about what he saw: "It just felt like he wasn't sped up at all, and I think he came out of it pretty well," he told reporters, per the Associated Press.

Ohtani now has five regular-season games to build back to playoff speed before the Dodgers, who are pursuing a third straight World Series title, are expected to earn a first-round bye that would give him a few extra days to rest, CBS Sports reported. Roberts confirmed the plan was always to activate Ohtani and immediately option rookie Josue De Paula, who is still under consideration for a spot on the National League Division Series bench roster, back to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Ohtani isn't the Dodgers' only health concern heading into October. Left-hander Blake Snell is nursing groin tightness but is lined up to start Sept. 26, according to MLB.com's injury tracker. Left-hander Eric Lauer is done for the year after being ruled out until 2027, and reliever Edgardo Henriquez is sidelined with a low-grade back strain and ineligible to return before the regular season ends.

The unresolved question is whether five tune-up games and a first-round bye will be enough. Friedman was careful not to promise anything: "I think the fact that he feels as good as he does right now is certainly encouraging. Now it's about making sure that holds."