Shohei Ohtani Returns to Dodgers Lineup, But His Pitching Season is Over

The collective blood pressure of Los Angeles just dropped back to a normal human level. After sitting out four straight games, Shohei Ohtani is officially returning to the Dodgers' starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.

Ohtani has been dealing with lingering left knee and right biceps soreness that finally forced manager Dave Roberts to pull the plug and give his superstar a breather. When a guy is carrying the weight of a billion-dollar franchise, sometimes you just have to force him to sit on the couch for a long weekend.

"Bob Nightengale reported: 'Shohei Ohtani returns to the Dodgers starting lineup after being out last 4 games.'"

The rest was desperately needed. Before the break, Ohtani looked uncharacteristically mortal, going just 7-for-51 over his last 13 games and striking out four times against the St. Louis Cardinals last Wednesday. That is a standard rough patch for a normal player, but for a guy hitting .279 with 30 home runs and 80 RBIs, it was a flashing check-engine light.

The bad news for baseball purists is that the two-way dream is officially on ice for the rest of 2026. Roberts essentially told reporters to do the math on Ohtani's pitching timeline. You do not need an advanced degree to realize a guy with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts is not ramping back up to throw triple digits in October when his arm is already barking.

His return to the batter's box immediately shifts the betting landscape for Monday night. Ohtani being back in the leadoff spot juices the Dodgers' runline and puts his total bases props right back at the top of the board where they belong.

The Dodgers do not need Ohtani to pitch to win a World Series, but they absolutely need him to hit like an alien. Giving him four days to reset his body is a smart long-term play, and we will see exactly how much the rest paid off when he steps into the box against Cincinnati.