LOS ANGELES -- It has been close to two months since the Dodgers have seen Shohei Ohtani hit like the four-time unanimous MVP he is.
On the eve of Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Braves -- which they hope will be the beginning of a third straight championship run -- the Dodgers remain unsure of what exactly they can expect from their superstar designated hitter.
"I know that once the lights turn on, the postseason starts, the focus will be heightened," manager Dave Roberts said before Friday afternoon's pre-NLDS workout at Dodger Stadium. "I expect good things. I really do. We just haven't seen it enough … for me to forecast it."
In the past month, Ohtani has seen limited game action. After a 15-day injured list stint to address ongoing right biceps and left knee injuries, Ohtani returned to the Dodgers with only five regular-season games remaining, going 5-for-21 (.238) with a double and eight strikeouts against one walk.
Ohtani spent the Dodgers' bye week balancing getting rest with working on his swing, simulating live at-bats against his teammates and with the Trajekt machine. He came away feeling good about his health and his swing, but he acknowledged the uncertainties with both -- and that he would likely have to manage his lingering injuries moving forward.
"I haven't been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Friday, speaking to the media for the first time since before his IL stint. "I think that process is going to happen during the offseason when I'm going to have a little bit more time to be able to address it. But as of now, it's something I'm just going to have to manage."
Ohtani came into this year seeking his first full two-way season as a Dodger, but the lingering biceps and knee injuries that have bothered him since at least June derailed those plans and he will not pitch this postseason. He went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA through 14 starts, last pitching in a game on July 3 because his knee discomfort became too great.
In the two months that followed, L.A. kept the door open for Ohtani to return to a two-way role, but his attempted ramp-up on the mound coincided with a flare-up of his biceps and knee injuries -- and a severe slump at the plate. In 24 games before going on the IL, he hit .198 with a .689 OPS and struck out 34 times in 109 plate appearances, a clear sign for the Dodgers that the injuries had compromised his swing.
Before that slump, Ohtani was in the thick of the MVP race, hitting .296 with a .952 OPS and 26 homers. He ended the season with 30 homers -- his fewest in three seasons as a Dodger -- last going deep on Aug. 18 in Colorado.
Ohtani has gotten ample rest in the past month, which the Dodgers believe has helped him physically feel better. Hitting coach Aaron Bates said the focus has been more on his swing than his health over the past several days.
"The physical part, he’s kind of moving past that," Bates said. "Now it’s just getting the timing against different speeds, when he wants to get his move off, that sort of thing -- kind of the usual stuff hitters go through as opposed to him navigating trying to achieve the physical components."
Ohtani is far from the only player dealing with something physically at this point in the season, but the Dodgers are still expecting him to feel good enough to be a productive bat in the first or second spot of the lineup every game. But there may need to be improved communication between the two sides to ensure that the team can manage him the right way.
After Ohtani went on the IL, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman noted that while Ohtani was good at communicating with the team, he was not always transparent about how he was feeling.
“I think we always have open conversations with Sho. And I think this is go time for everybody," general manager Brandon Gomes said. "So guys are ready to go, and he's no different. And going out and giving everything he has is all we can ask."
With the Dodgers bidding for history this postseason, no one will really be sure what they can expect from their superstar until he steps into the batter's box. Not even him.
"Whether I have a lot of at-bats or not, I can figure out how I feel, especially in my setup. So that's something I was able to see," Ohtani said. "But I do want to get into the postseason, feel the atmosphere, and again, kind of recalibrate what I have to."