Dodgers' painful mistakes managing Shohei Ohtani must lead to different 2027 plan

Shohei Ohtani is the greatest baseball player we've ever seen, but he's still human. And aging. The 32-year-old megastar isn't past his prime or anything, but his body certainly showed signs of wear and tear in 2026.

Of course, being the two-way player that he is, Ohtani carries a bigger load than everyone else. And while Ohtani dove into that two-way mission with gumption entering the 2026 season, it was up to Dave Roberts and the Dodgers' leaders to manage Ohtani's impossible workload, and they failed.

The Dodgers allowed Ohtani to overexert himself into multiple injuries. They had a clear and obvious opportunity to rest him following the All-Star break, and they for whatever reason didn't take it. Roberts was often vague in his public statements about Ohtani's health, leading to more frustration from fans.

The Dodgers must manage Shohei Ohtani much more carefully in 2027

Ohtani isn't ready at all to give up his two-way magic moving forward. He's said he wants to pitch again in 2027. That's good and fine, so long as Roberts and the Dodgers realize that Ohtani must be managed to a far greater degree next season.

Ohtani needs way more off days, and the Dodgers need to be proactive and ultra-cautious if and when any small, nagging injuries arise, and shut Ohtani down during the regular season until he's fully healthy again.

Have the Dodgers' leaders fully acknowledged how much they mishandled Ohtani this year? It's impossible for anyone outside of the Dodgers' building to know that, or even anyone outside of Roberts' own mind. But it'll take some admission of mistakes for LA to move forward with a much more prudent plan of attack for Ohtani in 2027. Roberts has already publicly admitted that Ohtani should've been placed on the IL earlier than he was. That's a start.

The Dodgers, by the way, deserve some grace and forgiveness from fans when it comes to managing Ohtani, who is truly a once-in-a-lifetime talent that no one fully understands. It can be hard to know how to manage such a player, and the idea of "just let him play through X, Y, Z" sounds okay for a player who doesn't always seem human, to begin with.

Ohtani was having an MVP season before his knee inflammation and biceps issues started to pile up. He's still capable of performing like the best player on the planet, but even Ohtani can't excel when dealing with multiple ailments.

It's also become clear that Ohtani will often downplay his injuries when speaking with Roberts or Andrew Friedman -- he's a gamer and wants to be out there. That doesn't give the Dodgers a get-out-of-jail-free card for having mismanaged Ohtani, though.

LA is so good at load managing their pitching staff (sans Ohtani) ... why can't they apply this cautious, long-game approach to the game's greatest player? Hopefully, the Dodgers can figure it out next season.

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