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In hindsight, Andrew Friedman made the Dodgers’ handling of Shohei Ohtani’s injury-plagued season this year sound rather simple.
Throughout Ohtani’s return to a full-time two-way role, the team’s president of baseball operations said, the Dodgers checked in with the superstar “on a daily basis, a weekly basis” to monitor how he was feeling as he handled both pitching and hitting duties.
That process intensified once Ohtani began battling left knee and right arm injuries in the middle of the season, leading both to the decision to remove Ohtani from the starting rotation in early July –– but also to let him continue playing through his ailments as the team’s everyday DH while attempting to ramp back up with a pitching program, as well.
It all reached a tipping point two weeks ago, when a clearly diminished Ohtani was finally placed on the injured list amid a 6-for-52 batting slump, and had any plans of returning to the mound this season scuttled for good.
And now, continuing such dialogue will be crucial over the rest of the campaign, with Ohtani returning from the IL on Wednesday for a postseason push that he and the team hopes will see the 32-year-old slugger rediscover his typical productivity at the plate.
“The most important thing is how much better he feels,” Friedman said, speaking to reporters before Ohtani’s 1-for-4 performance in a loss to the San Diego Padres. “Now, it’s about continuing that as he takes game-intensity at-bats.”
How Ohtani and the Dodgers reached this point, of course, has been the subject of much speculation and criticism over recent weeks.
From the start of the year, the club’s No. 1 priority was having Ohtani at full strength as a hitter entering the playoffs.
That they failed in that endeavour –– even Friedman acknowledged Wednesday that Ohtani probably isn’t back to 100% physically, though also insisted that “Shohei says he feels back to where he was earlier in the year, which is great” –– will be the source of significant retrospection within the organization.
Especially if a compromised Ohtani prevents the Dodgers from winning a third-consecutive World Series this fall.
“There’s no question [the injuries] affected him,” Friedman said. “I think the fact that he feels as good as he does right now is certainly encouraging. Now it’s about making sure that holds.”
Friedman didn’t assign blame for why Ohtani’s season went so wrong. He didn’t second-guess the team’s decision to let him play with his injuries for as long as they did, nor Ohtani’s insistence on trying to try and push through his physical problems.
Every time the sides met to discuss Ohtani’s usage, Friedman said, “his answer has been whatever it takes to help the team win. It legitimately has been that single time.”
The one dynamic Friedman did emphasize upon reflection, however, was whether Ohtani was honest enough with himself about how much his health had deteriorated.
“He’s not always the best reporter of how he feels,” Friedman said. “Freddie [Freeman is] the same way. Clayton Kershaw. I’ve been around a lot of these guys that feel like their job is to be out there to help the team however they can, and sometimes will downplay some things that are bothering them.”
In a vacuum, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Friedman said he had “respect” for Ohtani’s dedication to post as often as possible. He recognized that, “in his mind, he thought the best way to help the team was to go out and play.”
At this point, though, it’s hard not to wonder whether Ohtani pushed himself too hard –– and that the team wasn’t proactive enough in stopping him from doing so.
“I think in his mind, he just thought that what he was dealing with was more minor,” Friedman said, while cutting Ohtani some slack by noting he never received more significant diagnoses than inflammation in both his knee and arm.
“Again, the communication back and forth has been awesome,” Friedman added. “The fully sharing exactly how he’s feeling, maybe not as awesome.”
It has certainly left the Dodgers in a less-than-awesome spot now, uncertain of exactly what version of Ohtani they will get over a grueling October trek.
This week, Friedman said the Dodgers want to get Ohtani “as many at-bats as we can” so he can build “some rhythm and timing” with his swing. However, he also didn’t commit to Ohtani playing all five of the team’s remaining games, wanting to see how he handles his return to action first (Wednesday’s performance, at least, offered some signs of progress).
It means, in the coming weeks, more daily check-ins will continue between Ohtani and the Dodgers.
At this point, it’s the best they can do to manage his health entering the playoffs.
As for the past?
“He was in a good enough spot to help us win,” Friedman said, “and we agreed with that.”
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