Shohei Ohtani remains day-to-day, Dodgers say IL stint unlikely

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani will not be placed on the injured list, Dave Roberts said Thursday, but the team remains cautious about Ohtani as he deals with discomfort extending from his right biceps into the right side of his neck.

Ohtani is out of the Dodgers’ lineup Thursday as the club prioritized a mental and physical rest day. Roberts described Ohtani’s health as “day to day” and said the team would continue evaluating him over the next couple of days.

The Dodgers have not ruled out an extended absence, but an injured-list stint remains unlikely.

“It’s a good thing to get a day off. Hopefully today helps,” Roberts said.

Ohtani reported the discomfort to the Dodgers’ training staff after Wednesday night’s game. The issue became noticeable during his final at-bat, when Ohtani repeatedly shook out his right arm.

Roberts said Ohtani’s symptoms have not been getting better, which prompted the decision to keep him out of the lineup Thursday.

The decision itself was delivered rather matter-of-factly.

Roberts said he texted Ohtani: “You’re not playing tomorrow.”

There was no back-and-forth.

Roberts said he did not give Ohtani an opportunity to rebut the decision. Ohtani’s response? A salute emoji.

The Dodgers, however, are not necessarily expecting Ohtani to remain sidelined for long. Roberts said the club would check with him later Thursday to determine whether he might be available off the bench and would continue assessing whether he is ready to return to the lineup.

“I don’t know that answer,” Roberts said when asked how he would determine whether Ohtani needs an extended break. “Me talking to Shohei, how he feels today vs. yesterday. I don’t think I’ll have a decision until tomorrow.”

General manager Brandon Gomes echoed Roberts’ cautious approach, emphasizing that the Dodgers have not seen anything at this point that suggests Ohtani is dealing with a major physical issue.

“They haven’t had any indication that he’s not good enough physically to go out and play,” Gomes said. “So I was thinking he’s a victim of his own frightfulness. I don’t think there’s anything overly concerning at this point. We’ll continue to monitor and have conversations and see how he feels.”

For the Dodgers, the priority is making sure a short-term issue does not become something more significant.

“We’ll continue to monitor how he’s feeling and go from there,” Gomes said. “I think, like we’ve done recently, is just take it day to day and continue to have conversations and not try to get too far ahead of ourselves.”

That is particularly important given Ohtani’s role with the Dodgers. The club wants to keep him in the lineup as much as possible, and Gomes acknowledged that a 10-day IL stint would be something the team would prefer to avoid.

“I think not having Shohei in the lineup, for you know, 10 days or whatever would be something that we would prefer not to do, and it really hasn’t even been something that we discovered,” Gomes said.

For now, the Dodgers are choosing caution over forcing Ohtani into action.

He is day to day. The IL is unlikely. But the club also isn't putting a timetable on his return.

The next decision could come as soon as Friday.

As Roberts put it, there is no reason to get ahead of the situation. The Dodgers will talk to Ohtani, see how he feels, and go from there.