Dodgers Reportedly Considering Benching Shohei Ohtani for Game 3

The Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly considering benching Shohei Ohtani for Game 3 of the playoffs, which is the kind of sentence that makes you check if you accidentally clicked a parody account. MLB Trade Rumors dropped the report, and it immediately set the baseball internet on fire.

You do not bench a $700 million player in October unless something is catastrophically wrong. If Ohtani actually sits, every sportsbook in the country is going to scramble to adjust the moneyline and rip up his player props.

"MLB Trade Rumors reported the potential benching, sparking massive online reaction and confusion from fans."

The panic in Los Angeles is at least mathematically justified. The Dodgers just dropped the first two games of their series against the Milwaukee Brewers on the road, losing a tight 2-1 opener before getting handled 7-4 in Game 2.

Now they are heading back home facing a massive deficit, and the proposed solution is to sit the guy they bought specifically to prevent this exact scenario. That is like buying a Ferrari to win a street race and deciding to take the bus because the engine sounded weird at a stoplight.

Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Whether Ohtani is in the designated hitter spot or watching from the dugout steps, the Dodgers have to figure out how to beat Milwaukee before their massive offseason investment turns into the most expensive early vacation in baseball history.