The 2026 season has come to an end for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, as they were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in four games.

Plenty of things went wrong in this series, but one of the biggest storylines was the struggles of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. But since he wasn't pitching due to injury, Ohtani stuck as a DH-only.

Now, heading into the offseason, ESPN's Alden Gonzalez pointed out the big question the Dodgers will have with Ohtani. Unfortunately, they must try to figure out whether he can truly be a two-way player going forward, as his injury this year was a huge loss.

Dodgers have tricky Shohei Ohtani question to answer

"The big question will be whether Ohtani will continue to pitch," Gonzalez writes. "Assuming he does, what exactly will that look like in his age-32 season, coming off a year in which pain in his left knee and right bicep kept him away from the rotation after early July?"

Ohtani was an elite pitcher in the first half of the 2026 MLB season. But after an injury sidelined him in July, his attempt to return to the mound didn't go well, and he was forced to focus fully on being a hitter for Los Angeles.

Now, as Gonzalez highlighted, the Dodgers have a question of whether or not Ohtani can keep pitching.

It's hard to imagine Ohtani giving up on pitching, so the next question is how the Dodgers will actually utilize Ohtani as a pitcher.

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Is Ohtani going to remain a full-time starter, getting in as much work as possible as he did in the first half of 2026? Or will the Dodgers limit his workload by either using him as an opener or maybe even as a reliever?

After Ohtani's third season with the team on a 10-year deal, these aren't the type of questions the Dodgers hoped they would be forced to answer.

Ohtani is a great hitter, but his best value comes as a two-way player, which might be difficult to accomplish after an injury-riddled second half of 2026, and he will be 32 years old in 2027.

This is a very interesting question for the Dodgers, and one that fans should be paying close attention to this offseason and leading up to the regular season.

It's probably too soon for Ohtani to totally give up on pitching, but it's, unfortunately, becoming a real question he and the Dodgers will have to answer at the end of every regular season going forward.

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