New MLB Rumors on Shohei Ohtani's Injuries, Dodgers' Handling of Star Amid Struggles

After being swept out of the playoffs in the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Los Angeles Dodgers are now facing questions about the missteps that hindered them from completing a World Series title three-peat.

Most notably, the Dodgers' handling of three-time NL MVP Shohei Ohtani fell under the spotlight amid the two-way phenom's injury-riddled campaign.

According to The Athletic's Katie Woo, "Ohtani's determination to pitch and the Dodgers' dubious decision to let him push his return from injury left their best player compromised for the playoffs. Ailments that arose in early summer carried into October, with Ohtani physically absent from the mound and figuratively so from the plate. It was exactly the scenario the Dodgers pledged to avoid, and it ultimately played a key role in their downfall."

Ohtani played in 135 games during the regular season and hit 30 home runs with 81 RBI, his lowest totals since his injury-shortened 2020 campaign with the Los Angeles Angels. He managed to make 14 starts and compiled an 8-2 record with a career-best 1.79 ERA.

Still, Ohtani clearly wasn't himself during the playoffs. He didn't pitch during the postseason, and he hit just .192 with one homer and three RBI across eight games.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman acknowledged that the team should have done a better job managing Ohtani's workload to ensure he was at 100 percent for the playoffs.

"How do we manage through a long season and have him at his best going into October? That's a challenge," Friedman said at the Dodgers' end-of-year news conference last week. "We have to figure that out together, and I'm confident that we will continue to learn from things as we go and continue to make it better."

However, when asked what the Dodgers could have done differently or whether Ohtani could pitch a full season and still be effective in October, Friedman admitted, "I don't know the answer to that."