It’s been a while since the Dodgers have found themselves in the situation they’re currently in.
Los Angeles lost Game 2 of the NLCS to the Brewers last night in Milwaukee, and now it trails 2–0 as the series heads to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday. It’s the first time since the 2023 NLDS that the Dodgers have trailed 2–0 in a postseason series.
That might not seem like that long ago, but you have to remember that the Dodgers have won eight playoff series since then. In fact, it’s notable that the Dodgers find themselves in any sort of early hole. They had won the opening game in seven of those eight series.
These aren’t the same Dodgers that have dominated MLB for the past few years, though. The most glaring difference is that Shohei Ohtani is a shell of his usual self. Nagging knee and arm injuries have sapped Ohtani of his power at the plate and kept him from pitching altogether. After going 0-for-4 in last night’s game, Ohtani is 3-for-20 (.150) in the postseason. He hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 18, which was 24 games ago. That’s the longest single-season homerless drought of his career.
Ohtani’s slump is bad enough that the Dodgers are considering benching him for Game 3.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously it hasn’t been good,” manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic after Game 2. “He doesn’t feel great. I think for me, it’s having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what’s best for him, what’s best for us. He certainly has earned that conversation and deserves it.
“I’ll have [that conversation] with him tomorrow.”
The fact that Roberts would entertain the idea of sitting one of the best hitters of this generation tells you just how compromised Ohtani is right now. He hasn’t been pulling the ball or making solid contact all postseason. He ripped a single into right field at 105.4 mph in the first inning of Game 1 of the NLDS, but he hasn’t squared up a ball since. Click through this list of every ball Ohtani has put in play this postseason and you’ll see a whole bunch of pop-ups and soft grounders. He’s searching so desperately for an answer to his woes that he even squared to bunt during his at-bat in the sixth inning last night. (He wound up striking out.)
As hard as it is to believe, Ohtani’s continued presence in the lineup is hurting the Dodgers. Roberts has already tried dropping Ohtani in the batting order, hitting him fifth in Game 3 of the NLDS against lefty Chris Sale and fourth in the past three games. But Ohtani’s poor performance is not an issue that can be solved by shuffling the lineup. Last night’s 0-fer made it clear that Roberts needs to take bolder action.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo reported that rookie Josue De Paula is the leading candidate to take Ohtani’s spot in the lineup if Roberts decides to make a move. De Paula, 21, is one of the top prospects in baseball. He hit 27 homers in 124 games in Double A this season and got his first taste of big league action in September when Ohtani was on the injured list. Replacing a living legend with a guy barely old enough to take part in a clubhouse champagne celebration is a drastic move, but the Dodgers need to be aggressive if they’re going to pull out of this hole.
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