Dodgers’ Dave Roberts makes final decision on Shohei Ohtani’s Wednesday role vs. Rays

The Los Angeles Dodgers, every five days or so, have a decision to make regarding Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is back to being a full-time starter, and he’s returned to elite form on the mound — making him a dangerous two-way weapon once again. But the Dodgers have to be cognizant of the heaviness of Ohtani’s workload so as to not overburden him, which could regrettably lead to an injury later on.

Ohtani is scheduled to start for the Dodgers on the mound on Wednesday during their series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. But his status as a member of the batting order remained up in the air until Tuesday night, when Dave Roberts confirmed that Ohtani won’t be suiting up as the team’s designated hitter against the Rays, as per Katie Woo of The Athletic.

The Dodgers are now being careful to not risk harm against Ohtani. Throwing pitches as a starter in MLB requires intense physical exertion, and while he has shown in the past that he can both pitch and hit at a high level during the same game, the Dodgers are not willing to throw caution to the wind regarding their best player this time around.

The last time Ohtani came to the mound, he also suited up as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter. During that game, a 9-8 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ohtani went 1-5 from the plate and he allowed three earned runs in 6.2 innings of work.

In his start before that loss to the Pirates, Ohtani also had a dual role, starting on the mound and leading things off for the Dodgers at the plate. That did not seem to put a damper on his performance on either side of the ball, however. In a 7-0 win vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks on the third of June, Ohtani went 3-4 from the plate with two RBIs while allowing just two hits in six innings of shutout ball.

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