Dodgers Considering Rest Days for Shohei Ohtani Before Postseason

The Dodgers are considering giving Shohei Ohtani rest days before the postseason in an effort to get him to full health, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. Nothing has been announced, and the plan remains under internal discussion.

What we know

Los Angeles is weighing lineup decisions for Ohtani as the regular season moves toward October. The framing in Chen's report is deliberate: the Dodgers want him at full health for the playoffs, which implies he is not currently there.

The recent backdrop

This surfaces shortly after manager Dave Roberts publicly questioned Ohtani's availability following a game against the Cardinals in which Ohtani was visibly wincing and compensating during at-bats, per earlier Posterior reporting. That visible discomfort appears to be the thread connecting Roberts's postgame comments to the rest-day conversation now in the open.

What we don't know yet

No specific number of rest days has been reported, no timetable has been attached, and no diagnosis or injury label appears in the material. Whether this becomes a formal plan or stays a contingency is unconfirmed.

The Dodgers' rotation has also been unsettled of late — Roki Sasaki landed on the IL with a blister, and Eric Lauer, who had slid back into the rotation as a result, was subsequently placed on the IL himself. How Los Angeles handles Ohtani's workload is one piece of a broader roster puzzle the club is still assembling before October.