Ohtani’s $700M Gamble: Can He Break the Slump and Seal the Dodgers’ Destiny?

Alright, let’s dive into the latest buzz from Dodger Stadium where Shohei Ohtani sparked a glimmer of hope in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers’ high-priced slugger—their ten-year, $700 million marvel—jumped off the bench with a slick triple into right field, setting the stage for a run that, frankly, Dodgers fans hoped would ignite a fire under his bat. But here’s the kicker: even with that ray of sunshine, Ohtani’s still battling some rough waters at the plate, managing only a couple hits in the series against a struggling Milwaukee Brewers squad, now down three games to none. Head Coach Dave Roberts, clearly worried, shuffled Ohtani back in the pitching rotation, pinning hopes on him to seal the deal in Game 4, where his mound magic may just be the ace in the Dodgers’ sleeve to clinch their second straight NL pennant.

Now, the 31-year-old phenom’s grind has everyone talking—the sheer physical and mental toll of his dual roles can’t be understated, especially after returning from elbow surgery just this past September. His offensive groove took a noticeable dip even before the playoffs kicked off, and in the intense postseason spotlight, it’s been a tougher climb. Yet, Ohtani remains laser-focused, insisting his pitching duties don’t cloud his batting focus. With a relentless work ethic and a steady hand on his mechanics, he’s tackling this slump head-on, embodying the very essence of resilience.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn’t mince words, calling Ohtani “a unicorn,” marveling at how every minute of his day is meticulously managed. Despite the offensive hiccups, the team’s stellar pitching and defense have kept them afloat—and with Ohtani poised to pitch again, the Brewers better brace themselves. Because when Ohtani’s on the mound firing strikes, his bat struggles can take a backseat—and that spells serious trouble for Milwaukee as the Dodgers inch closer to a World Series rematch.

Curious for more on Shohei’s rollercoaster playoff journey and what it means for the Dodgers’ championship chase? LEARN MORE

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani showed a bit of pulse at the plate when he led off Game 3 of the National League Championship Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers by lining a triple into the right field corner. He scored moments later on a Mookie Betts double.

Ohtani—the Dodgers’ 10-year, $700 million man—came into the game with one hit in the best-of-seven series against the listless Milwaukee Brewers, who now trail 3-0 after losing, 3-1, at Dodger Stadium Thursday night. Manager Dave Roberts was so concerned about Ohtani’s hitting that he moved him to the back of the NLCS pitching rotation.

Now he has Ohtani in place to close out the series with a mound start in Game 4 on Friday. After a 1-for-4 late afternoon ballgame with two strikeouts at the plate, he’s 2-for-11 in the series with no homers, five whiffs and a .641 OPS. But according to Roberts, he’s working his butt off trying to snap out of the slump.

At the same time, Ohtani’s preparing for a chance to clinch the team’s second consecutive NL pennant, the precursor of repeating as World Series champions.

How does Ohtani manage it? Well, he has 700 million reasons.

“He’s a unicorn,” Roberts said about the two-way Japanese player. “I don’t know how he manages it. Every minute of the day is accounted for.”

Before the series began, Roberts even went as far as saying the Dodgers can’t repeat as World Series champs unless Ohtani snaps out of his offensive funk. But here they are, one win away from putting themselves in position to compete against either Toronto or Seattle.

“He’s a big part of what we’re doing,” Roberts said. “We’re pitching very well. We’re playing great defense. Obviously Shohei is not in the form that we expect. But we have a long way to go.”

The supposition is that the workload for the 31-year-old Ohtani has caught up with him, even though he has made only one pitching start in the playoffs. In Game 1 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, Ohtani threw six innings of three-run, three-hit ball with nine strikeouts in a 5-3 win.

Ohtani’s offensive numbers began to slip after he returned to pitching on June 16 after undergoing Sept. 2023 elbow surgery. His batting average dipped 18 points and his OPS slightly declined as the regular season ended. Still, he finished with 55 home runs, third among all players in the regular season.

The playoff drop off his been more severe. He opened just fine with two homers in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Cincinnati Reds. In the two-game sweep, he hit .333 (3-for-9) with the two homers and four RBIs.

But between a four-game victory over the Phillies in the NLDS and this NLCS, he’s fallen off the map. He’s gone 3-for-29(.103) with no homers, a pair of RBIs, 14 strikeouts and five walks, three of them intentional.

Ohtani, though, doesn’t believe pitching has anything to do with his extended slump at the plate.

“I don’t necessarily think that the pitching has affected my hitting performance,” he said through his interpreter. ”Just on the pitching side, as long as I control what I can control, I feel pretty good about putting up results. On the hitting side, just the stance, the mechanics, that’s something that I do—it’s a constant work in progress.”

A left-handed hitter and a right-handed pitcher, Ohtani has seen a steady diet of left-handed pitching thrown at him. When the Brewers started left-handed reliever Aaron Ashby Thursday, Ohtani surprisingly fell behind in the count before launching the triple, which had an exit velocity of 82 mph off Ohtani’s bat.

“He’s one of the best hitters in the game,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He [has not been] hitting the way he can. We’re not doing anything very special except we’re pitching him very carefully. Any time we can bring in a lefty to face him, that’s what we’ll do. He’s not barreling the ball like he does, but to us he’s still a dangerous, dangerous hitter.”

To Murphy’s point, Ohtani is a .264 lifetime hitter against left-handed pitching, .282 overall. But while his strategy is working well negating Ohtani, the Brewers have their own problems. They’ve scored three runs and amassed just nine hits in three games against Dodgers pitching.

If Ohtani continues that trend on the mound Friday, it won’t matter how he hits. The Brewers will be finished, and the Dodgers will be on to the World Series.