Shohei Ohtani Heading to 15-Day IL as Dodgers Prioritize October Health
The Dodgers have made their decision.
Shohei Ohtani is heading to the 15-day injured list, manager Dave Roberts confirmed during his postgame media session Wednesday night following Los Angeles’ win over the Cincinnati Reds.
After more than a week of trying to manage Ohtani’s physical issues without an IL stint, Roberts determined that the Dodgers were no longer seeing enough improvement to justify continuing with the day-to-day approach.
Ohtani will now shut down swinging for approximately two to three days before beginning another progression toward returning to the lineup.
The objective is clear: give Ohtani the uninterrupted recovery time he needs now in hopes of having him in a better physical position when the postseason begins.
Roberts Saw That Rest Days Weren’t Enough
Los Angeles had been attempting to manage Ohtani with scattered days off.
He missed four consecutive games before returning Monday against Cincinnati, when he went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Ohtani later experienced continued discomfort in his right biceps following a swing during that game.
He subsequently missed Tuesday and Wednesday as well, leaving him out of six of the Dodgers’ last seven games.
Before Wednesday’s game, Roberts acknowledged that an IL stint had returned to consideration after the Dodgers learned Ohtani had not responded as well as initially hoped to Monday’s return.
By the end of the night, Roberts had seen enough.
His reasoning was essentially that Ohtani was not feeling better, and there was little indication that continuing to give him an occasional day or two off was going to change that.
The IL provides something the Dodgers’ previous approach could not: an extended stretch in which Ohtani can actually stop pushing through the issue.
Dodgers Don’t Believe Ohtani Is Incapable of Playing
The move sounds alarming, but Roberts also provided important context about the severity of Ohtani’s condition.
He indicated that if the Dodgers had a postseason game tomorrow, Ohtani would be in the lineup.
That tells us this is not a situation where Los Angeles believes Ohtani physically cannot play.
Instead, the Dodgers are choosing to use the remaining regular season to improve his condition rather than continue asking him to play compromised.
That has been Roberts’ priority throughout the recent injury situation.
Earlier this week, he explained that the club was looking beyond individual September games and trying to get Ohtani as close to his best physical condition as possible for October.
Now they are taking the most significant step toward accomplishing that.
Ohtani May Not Reach 100 Percent
The Dodgers are also being realistic.
Roberts acknowledged that Ohtani probably will not be 100 percent by the time he returns.
The goal is not necessarily complete recovery.
It is to get him healthy enough that he can return to the lineup, maintain his swing and play through the postseason at an adequate physical level without constantly needing days off.
That is especially important because the Dodgers have already abandoned Ohtani’s attempt to return to the mound this season.
His pitching comeback is effectively over for 2026, allowing the organization to focus entirely on getting Ohtani the hitter ready for October. Ohtani said earlier this week that he “most likely” would not pitch again this season.
Why It Has to Be 15 Days
Even though Ohtani has recently been functioning exclusively as a designated hitter, his official two-way player designation means he is subject to the pitcher injured-list minimum.
That means 15 days rather than the 10-day IL available to position players.
That longer absence was one reason the Dodgers had been reluctant to make the move earlier. MLB reported last week that Roberts viewed the 15-day requirement as something of a deterrent while Los Angeles tried to determine whether Ohtani could improve with shorter periods of rest.
Ultimately, however, keeping Ohtani active was no longer accomplishing much.
If he could not consistently play anyway, the Dodgers were effectively operating with a shortened bench while still failing to give him the uninterrupted recovery period his body needed.
The calculation finally changed.
Dodgers Choosing October Over September
The timing makes the organization’s priorities obvious.
Los Angeles is in the middle of a playoff race and just completed a dominant sweep of Cincinnati, but getting Ohtani healthy enough for October carries more value than squeezing a handful of additional September starts out of him.
There is also some encouraging context.
Roberts believes Ohtani could play right now if the circumstances demanded it.
The Dodgers simply do not believe they should demand it.
Instead, Ohtani will stop swinging for several days, allow the right biceps and the rest of his body additional time to recover, then begin working toward a return later this month.
He may not come back at 100 percent.
But after watching Ohtani struggle to improve while trying to remain active, Roberts concluded that continuing down the same path was unlikely to get him where the Dodgers need him to be.
So the day-to-day uncertainty is over.
Shohei Ohtani is heading to the injured list, and the Dodgers are betting that sacrificing part of September gives them a healthier version of their biggest star in October.