With the Los Angeles Dodgers looking to capture their third straight World Series title, the team is preparing for the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, with the hope that Shohei Ohtani gets out of the rut he's been in. As Ohtani is experiencing a slump with the Dodgers in the postseason, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal discussed the dilemma that the team is currently in.

Speaking on “Foul Territory,” Rosenthal would restate that Los Angeles is going to keep playing Ohtani, no matter what the statistics say, as he's recorded a .154 batting average in the four playoff games against the Atlanta Braves. The warning that Rosenthal would give to the ball club is that they should not bury Ohtani in the lineup.

“The Dodgers are going to keep running him out there,” Rosenthal said. “Now they dropped him to fifth in Game 3, batted him fourth in Game 4. They're toying with the lineup a little bit, trying to figure out the best combination. And you don't want to bury him; you don't want to bat him eighth the way Joe Torre did with Alex Rodriguez one year. But at the same time, he's not giving them enough right now.”

As much as Shohei Ohtani is struggling at the plate, you don't want to bury him in the lineup, says @Ken_Rosenthal. pic.twitter.com/NBfnha7wXC

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) October 9, 2026

Ken Rosenthal on what's “encouraging” about Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani

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Subsequently, regarding what Ohtani has done in the four underwhelming postseason outings, Ohtani had two singles, walked once, stole a base, and recorded a run. Rosenthal would say that's been “encouraging” after an injury-plagued second half of this season, but everybody is waiting for Ohtani to reach his explosive peak.

“It was encouraging at least to see him kind of moving around better, but he is not the same at the plate right now,” Rosenthal said. “Now, the thing you will hear from everyone in the postseason who's talking about a struggling hitter: ‘Well, it's only one swing away.' That's true. He might only be one swing away, but we're still waiting for it.”

It remains to be seen when or if Ohtani will get out of his slump, as the next opportunity is Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday against the Brewers.