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Despite Shohei Ohtani turning in his best start as a two-way player this season — five scoreless innings on the mound and a home run at the plate in the Dodgers’ win over the Padres — Dave Roberts expressed some concern about Ohtani’s overall health before the game, per staff reporting at DodgerBlue.com. The specifics of what’s bothering Roberts are worth paying attention to, because when a manager publicly acknowledges he’s monitoring his franchise player’s health, that’s not throwaway talk.

Ohtani has been the centerpiece of this Dodgers roster since arriving in Los Angeles, and his dual-threat ability remains unlike anything else in baseball. The guy threw five scoreless innings and then went deep from the batter’s box in the same game — that’s the kind of performance that reminds you why the Dodgers committed historic money to bring him here. But the two-way workload is genuinely unprecedented at this level of sustained production. Ohtani’s body is asked to do things no other player in the modern game is doing, and even when the results are electric, the physical toll is a constant background concern. We saw what happened with his elbow before. His UCL history is always part of the conversation, even when he looks invincible on the field.

Roberts managing Ohtani’s health proactively is exactly what you want to see. This isn’t a situation where something has gone wrong — it’s the Dodgers being careful with their most important asset. That said, the fact that Roberts flagged it publicly, even mildly, suggests there’s something tangible he’s tracking. Maybe it’s general fatigue. Maybe it’s something more specific. We don’t have those details yet, but I’ll be watching closely for any follow-up reporting on what exactly prompted the comment.

From a big-picture standpoint, managing Ohtani’s workload is one of the defining challenges of this Dodgers season. We need him healthy in October, full stop. If that means occasionally pulling back on the two-way usage during the regular season — skipping a start here, DHing instead of pitching there — that’s a trade worth making. The Dodgers have enough pitching depth (even with Blake Snell out following elbow surgery) to absorb a lighter Ohtani pitching schedule if it comes to that.

Right now, this is more of a monitoring situation than an alarm. Ohtani just dominated one of our division rivals from both sides of the ball. But Roberts publicly keeping an eye on things means we should too. This is the kind of story that either fades quietly or becomes the biggest storyline of our summer. I’d rather the Dodgers be cautious now than regretful later.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: May 21, 2026 5:28 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers