Ohtani to play at less than 100% in playoffs: Will need to 'manage' injuries

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers' two-way star Shohei Ohtani called the past few days "very productive" and believes his swing is "in a better place" heading into a National League Division Series showdown against the Atlanta Braves, which begins Saturday. But Ohtani won't be fully healthy then and perhaps at any point this postseason. The left knee and right bicep ailments that compromised him throughout the summer will linger into the fall, Ohtani and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated Friday. "As of now, it's something I'm just going to have to manage," Ohtani said through an interpreter. Knee and bicep injuries finally sent Ohtani to the injured list in early September, on the heels of a 14-game stretch that saw him compile seven hits and 22 strikeouts. Ohtani returned with five regular-season games and was inconsistent, putting together an encouraging stretch against the San Diego Padres and an overwhelming one against the San Francisco Giants. Ohtani took batting practice on the field during workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, a rarity for him, and Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates said those sessions were "as good as we've seen it this year as far as the way the ball was coming off and the way he was getting his move off." Bates provided some proof of that. "He did hit a couple balls up off the scoreboard," he said. Ohtani also took three plate appearances against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a prolonged simulated game Wednesday, worked out inside Thursday and came onto the field for three rounds of outdoor batting practice around 6 p.m. PT on Friday. "Shohei's not 100 percent, but he's going to be in the lineup," Roberts said, adding that veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman also isn't fully healthy, among others. "I think that most players that are performing now are not 100 percent. Obviously with Shohei it's a bigger deal because of the player, but there's a lot of players that are not 100 percent, and they've just got to manage it." Despite being compromised for much of the past three months, Ohtani finished the year batting .275/.377/.512 with 30 home runs and 11 stolen bases and is likely to finish second to Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong in NL MVP voting. Ohtani also went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts, but he didn't pitch past July 3 and had essentially been ruled out of pitching by Labor Day. Ohtani went on the IL thereafter. "During the IL I pretty much knew I wasn't going to pitch the rest of the season," Ohtani said. "So I did focus on just the hitting aspect of the game and coming to understanding and wanting to execute and try new things when I came back. So those were the things that I really took the IL time to think through what I wanted to try when I was back in action." Ohtani had several hard-hit balls upon returning from the IL, notably an opposite-field double off a 103 mph fastball from star closer Mason Miller. But he ultimately went 5-for-21 with eight strikeouts in his last five regular-season games, and by the end, Roberts noticed him being overanxious, trying too hard to get reacclimated to major league pitching with limited time. Ohtani, 32, said he still has to make "little tweaks here and there" with his swing before feeling ready for Game 1. He downplayed having limited playing time before then. "Whether I have a lot of at-bats or not, I can figure out how I feel, especially in my setup," Ohtani said. "So that's something I was able to kind of see. But I do want to get into the postseason, feel the atmosphere, and again kind of recalibrate what I have to."