Shohei Ohtani endures Dodgers home-run drought as Roberts considers rest

Shohei Ohtani’s home-run drought has reached 60 at-bats, the longest he has endured since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers. His slump continued against the Boston Red Sox, when he struck out in all four at-bats, drew one walk and was hit by a pitch. He also stole a base, but his batting average fell to .279.

Ohtani appeared uncomfortable during some swings. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he planned to speak with him the following day to understand his physical condition. Roberts said Ohtani’s swing clearly did not look like his usual one, and the team would decide how to proceed after assessing whether he was fit to continue playing.

Roberts said placing Ohtani on the injured list appeared highly unlikely. Ohtani does not want to rest and believes he should remain in the starting lineup whenever his body allows it. Roberts said he respected that attitude, but added that continuing to play in the condition seen that night would help no one.

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I respect that. But if he is actually in the state we saw tonight, continuing to play does not help anyone. So I plan to have a good talk with him about it.

Ohtani has injuries involving his arm and left knee. Roberts said it was difficult to know whether one or two days off, or even 10 days, would restore him fully. The plan, he said, was to wait until Ohtani felt better before putting him back in the batter’s box.

Roberts also said the delay to Ohtani’s return as a pitcher did not appear to reflect a mental problem. He described Ohtani as one of the mentally strongest players he had worked with and said the priority was to determine honestly how his body felt.

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Shohei is one of the mentally strongest players I have ever worked with.