Something is wrong with Shohei Ohtani's hitting, and Dodgers are changing plans to try and figure it out
This has come pretty much out of nowhere.
Something is wrong with Shohei Ohtani's hitting, and Dodgers are changing plans to try and figure it out originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Shohei Ohtani seems to have left his bat in 2025.
For whatever reason, the Los Angeles Dodgers ' two-way superstar has scuffled at the plate in a major way this season. He's been mired in such a slump that the Dodgers have continued to change their usage of him to try to snap him out of it. Ohtani is hitting .
233 so far this season with six home runs. His . 767 OPS would be solid for a lot of players, but it's nowhere near his usual standard.
The Dodgers have begun to have Ohtani focus solely on pitching on the days he takes the mound and not do both things. This week, they're actually planning on him sitting out the following day after he pitches, too: Dave Roberts said Shohei Ohtani won’t hit either Wednesday (his start date on the mound) or Thursday as he continues to scuffle at the plate. — Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) May 12, 2026 MORE: MLB's 3-inning save rule is trending And one of the top baseball statisticians on social media, @JayHayKid, broke out these declines from last year to this year that are quite concerning: A look at Shohei Ohtani's 2026 compared to 2025: Tied for the 7th-largest drop in wRC+, 6th-largest drop in hard-hit rate, 8th-largest drop in barrel rate, 7th-largest increase in pull rate and the lowest zone swing rate of his career.