Shohei Ohtani to start Game 3 for Dodgers despite ongoing health concerns

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced during their off day that Shohei Ohtani will be starting Game 3 of the NLCS, putting to rest — at least for now — the rumblings that the four-time MVP could be removed from the lineup entirely, per Yahoo Sports.

That the question was even being asked tells you something about where things stand.

What happened

The Dodgers made the announcement on their off day, according to Yahoo Sports, after manager Dave Roberts had already moved Ohtani down in the batting order in Game 2 and after reports surfaced that a full benching was under consideration. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. on FS1, with Blake Snell taking the mound against Milwaukee's Robert Gasser.

The Brewers enter Game 3 with a 2-0 series lead and will be playing on the road for the first time in this best-of-seven set, per Yahoo Sports. A third consecutive win would not guarantee Milwaukee's first World Series appearance since 1982, the report notes, but it would put them very close.

Why it matters

The Dodgers' decision to keep Ohtani in the lineup is not a clean resolution so much as a continuation of the central tension of this postseason. Per Yahoo Sports, Ohtani hit the injured list near the end of the regular season, then struggled through eight September games, and still does not appear to be fully right entering Game 3. Roberts had already signaled concern by moving him down the order, and the benching conversation was real enough that the club felt the need to address it publicly.

Per prior Posterior reporting, Ohtani is playing through left knee and left biceps injuries and was on the 15-day IL in mid-September. A separate Posterior item noted a right biceps issue that has been present for weeks. The picture that emerges across those reports is of a player who has not been near full strength for some time — one who hit .160 in his final 88 plate appearances of the regular season, per that prior reporting.

The Dodgers finished the regular season 100-62 (.617), first in the NL West, and arrived at the postseason as one of the sport's marquee franchises. Their ability to advance past Milwaukee likely depends in meaningful part on whether their most prominent hitter can find something resembling his earlier form.

The numbers

Ohtani's postseason line, per Yahoo Sports: 3-for-20, zero extra-base hits, three walks, seven strikeouts, and a .411 OPS. That is the production line of a player who is present in the lineup but not yet a threat in it.

Prior Posterior reporting placed his final-stretch regular-season average at .160 over his last 88 plate appearances, a stretch that overlapped with the IL stint and the September return. The homerless run, per Posterior reporting, extends back to Aug. 18.

The Dodgers carry a three-game winning streak into Game 3, per the verified standings data, which reflects the broader health of the roster even as questions cluster around their most prominent name.

Where the club stands

The Dodgers are 100-62 (.617) on the season, first in the NL West, and currently riding a three-game winning streak. They trail the Brewers 2-0 in the NLCS and face Games 3, 4, and 5 at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium — Wednesday through Friday — before the series would return to Milwaukee if necessary.

The home setting matters operationally. The Brewers have not yet played on the road in this series, and the Dodgers will have their home crowd for at least the next three games.

Is Ohtani actually healthy enough to contribute?

The Dodgers announced he is in the starting lineup, but the club has not characterized his health as resolved. Per prior Posterior reporting, Ohtani is playing through left knee and left biceps injuries, and a separate item noted a right biceps issue that has been present for weeks. Roberts himself was reported to have said Ohtani "doesn't feel great," per a prior Posterior item attributing the comment to The Athletic. The announcement that he is starting is not the same as an announcement that he is healthy — and the .411 OPS through 20 postseason at-bats is the most honest accounting of where things stand on the field.

What we don't know yet

The precise nature and severity of Ohtani's injuries remains unresolved in the public record. Prior Posterior items reference left knee, left biceps, and right biceps concerns across different reports, and the overlap between those items has not been clarified by the club. Whether Roberts will continue to bat him lower in the order, or whether the benching conversation is fully closed rather than merely paused, has not been addressed publicly, per the available reporting.

More broadly, the NLCS itself is still very much in motion. The Brewers hold a 2-0 lead but have not yet had to win on the road. The Dodgers have not yet had to win with their backs against the wall. Both of those things change starting Wednesday night.

What to watch

The most immediate question is whether Ohtani shows any sign of the adjustment that would indicate his slump is turning. Per prior Posterior reporting, a mechanical root cause has been identified for his homerless stretch dating to Aug. 18 — though what that means for his near-term production is not something the available reporting addresses.

Watch also for any lineup adjustments Roberts makes beyond what has already been reported. Moving Ohtani down the order was one lever; the benching conversation suggests the Dodgers have been thinking through contingencies. If the results in Game 3 continue to trend in the wrong direction, that conversation is unlikely to stay quiet.

On the other side of the bracket, the Rays evened their ALCS with Cleveland at one game apiece with a 3-1 win on Tuesday night, per Yahoo Sports, with Freddy Peralta tossing six scoreless innings and Bryan Baker closing it out. That series resumes Thursday in Cleveland after a travel day, per Yahoo Sports — which means Wednesday night belongs entirely to the NLCS, and to the question of what Shohei Ohtani has left.

The offseason machinery is already warming up in the background. Per Yahoo Sports, free agency opens five days after the World Series ends, the GM Meetings begin November 9, the owners meetings start November 17, and the non-tender deadline falls November 20. The current CBA expires December 1, which Yahoo Sports notes could push or cancel some of the offseason's most consequential activity. For the 26 teams no longer playing, that calendar is the whole horizon. For the Dodgers, it is still secondary to the next three games at home — and to whether their best player can find his way back into this series.