Dylan Hernandez unfortunately makes a great point about Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani usage

A broken clock is right twice a day. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Pick any similar saying and you’d accurately describe what it means when Dylan Hernandez makes a correct point. In this instance, it is regarding his opinion that Shohei Ohtani shouldn’t attempt to return to the mound this season. 

In a piece for the New York Post, Hernandez noted that for the sake of both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Ohtani himself, it is best that he focuses solely on his offensive game. And you know what? He's right. Maybe just don’t let him know that.

Despite garnering a certain reputation among the Dodgers fanbase, Hernandez accurately summarized what the ball club should do with their superstar if they want to take home another title. Yes, shutting down any hopes for Ohtani to pitch again this season stings. There’s no positive spin to take away from that fact. On the mound, Ohtani was on pace to have the most dominant season in his career.  

Ohtani’s 1.79 ERA and 0.946 WHIP through 85⅔ innings pitched would comfortably be his career best marks through a full season. While his strikeouts per nine rate was slightly down compared to his career average, Ohtani was becoming a more well-rounded pitcher. He was inducing more ground balls and missing more barrels than he was when he finished fourth in the AL Cy Young race in 2022. 

However, as Hernandez noted, the brilliance of Ohtani also extends beyond the mound. And it's his offensive dominance that can be of more use to the Dodgers this October than anything he could provide as a pitcher.  

Shohei Ohtani remains the Dodgers most dangerous offensive weapon 

Ohtani has been dealing with a stubborn knee injury since early June. Despite attempting to pitch through the irritation, he has been shut down as a pitcher since July 3. At first, the Dodgers thought that a period of rest through the All-Start break would be exactly what their $700 million star needed. But as we enter September, Ohtani has still been hampered by lingering soreness in his knee. 

Despite being unable to return to the mound, Ohtani’s offensive production hasn’t taken that big of a hit. Although he hasn’t performed at the mind-blowing level we’ve come to expect from him over the years, his “down year” has still been special. His 30 home runs and .909 OPS in 2026 are numbers that some players would do anything for in their dream season. This is what makes him the Dodgers best offensive player by a wide margin.

His numbers since returning from the All-Star break are a clear indicator that his knee is still holding him back. But a .811 OPS through 39 second-half games is a far cry from having a black hole in the lineup. It’s just the fact that since Ohtani has started to ramp up his attempt to return to the mound, his offense has suffered even more. So making the decision to shut down his pitching to have him focus on hitting does not only make sense for the Dodgers upcoming postseason push, but for Ohtani’s long-term future.    

It is certainly tough to agree with a hot take specialist like Hernandez, but attempting to bring Ohtani back to the pitching staff is a misstep from the Dodgers. Especially since the pitching staff has been so great this season. Ohtani would also likely be on a strict innings and pitch count, which is something that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has been seriously considering.

“Obviously, where we're at right now with the pitching, the starting pitching certainly being a strength, his value offensively is hugely important, and so we can't compromise that in any fashion," Roberts said.

We obviously know that if any player is capable of playing through a nagging injury and dominating, it is Ohtani. But him notching another all-time great playoff performance isn’t a guarantee this season. It’s not even guaranteed that he can make it through October in one piece. So like it or not, Hernandez is right about keeping Ohtani off of the mound.  

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