Dodgers Could Bench Shohei Ohtani for Season's Biggest Game: Report

Shohei Ohtani is batting just .150 this postseason, and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he could be benched for Game 3 of the NLCS.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are about to play the most important game of their season. Surely Shohei Ohtani, one of the best players of his generation, if not all time, would be in the lineup, right?

maybe not After the Dodgers dropped the first two games of the NLCS to the Milwaukee Brewers, the four-time MVP looked out of sorts, and manager Dave Roberts is considering benching Otney for Game 3.

"Yeah, I mean, obviously it wasn't good," Roberts told The Athletic. He is not feeling well. I think for me, I'll talk to him tomorrow, try to figure out what's best for him, what's best for us. He has certainly earned and deserves this conversation.

"I will have (that conversation) with him tomorrow."

Ohtani has struggled mightily at the plate this postseason, hitting just .150 in 24 plate appearances with no extra hits. In Game 3 of the Dodgers' NLDS win over the Atlanta Braves, Roberts demoted the slumping superstar to fifth in the batting order, his lowest position since 2020.

The six-time All-Star may not be fully healthy, either, as he missed about two weeks on the injured list with soreness in his left knee and right bicep late in the regular season. Ohtani hit his last home run on August 18 and has been in a long slump ever since.

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Since Aug. 19, the two-time World Series champion is hitting a paltry .157 with just one RBI while hitting in nearly 35 percent of his at-bats. While the numbers are impressive, Ohtani's at-bats indicate that something is not quite right.

Instead of swinging mammoths that strike fear into opposing pitchers and send crowds into frenzy, he's become a slapper in October. Instead of going for power as he normally does, Ohtani went to work as he took his sixth loss on Monday.

The Dodgers have little margin for error as they look to overcome a 2-0 series deficit and advance to their third straight World Series. In their two losses in Milwaukee, they had just five runs on 10 hits.

Ohtani's benching sends shock waves through the baseball world, but Roberts may feel he has no other choice.

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