TThe Los Angeles Dodgers are searching for offensive consistency early in the 2026 season. And now there is a new concern surrounding their biggest star.
Shohei Ohtani was seen shaking his right wrist after a strikeout in Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium. Manager Dave Roberts noticed it too. The Dodgers do not yet have answers.
The Wrist Concern
GettyShohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ohtani’s second strikeout of the night came with two runners on base in the eighth inning. As he walked back to the dugout, he was visibly shaking his right wrist. Roberts was asked directly about it postgame.
“You know, I don’t know,” Roberts said. “I saw that too, after that last strikeout. I’ll get a report from Thomas after this session.”
Ohtani did not speak with reporters after the game. The Dodgers spent Thursday morning traveling to begin their first road trip of the season, with the series opener against the Washington Nationals set for Friday. An update on his status could come as early as Friday morning when the clubhouse opens or when Roberts meets with media ahead of the game.
As of now, Ohtani remains scheduled for his second pitching start of the season in the series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 8. Whether that changes depends on what the Dodgers learn in the coming days.
The Unusual Batting Practice Session
The wrist concern came at the end of a night that had already raised eyebrows. Earlier Wednesday, Roberts received a text from the Dodgers’ hitting coaches informing him that Ohtani was veering from his usual routine. The four-time MVP rarely takes batting practice on the field. On Wednesday, he wanted to hit.
Roberts cancelled batting practice for the rest of the team. Ohtani stayed out and worked through five rounds, peppering baseballs into the stands as he looked for feel and tried to make mechanical adjustments.
The manager admitted afterward that the rare session caught him off guard.
“I was a little surprised,” Roberts said. “Because he doesn’t do that that often. I think he was looking for some feel, the flight of the baseball. Sometimes when he doesn’t feel well he likes to change up his routine and get on the field to see the flight.”
The extra work did not translate into production. Ohtani went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts, grounding into a double play on a hittable pitch and coming up empty in the key eighth-inning at-bat.
Where the Dodgers Stand Offensively
The wrist situation lands in the middle of a concerning early stretch for Los Angeles at the plate. The Dodgers scored eight runs on Opening Day and just 15 across the next five games. In the three-game series against Cleveland, they managed seven combined runs.
Ohtani has been part of the struggle. Through six games, he is hitting .167 without an extra-base hit. The Dodgers head into their first road trip at 4-2, which is a reasonable start, but the offense has not been what anyone expected from a lineup this loaded.
Roberts is monitoring the situation closely. A wrist issue for a two-way player of Ohtani’s caliber is not something the Dodgers will take lightly, even if the expectation is that this is minor discomfort rather than a significant injury.
Final Word for the Dodgers
Ohtani changed his routine on Wednesday trying to find his swing. The answers did not come that night.
Now there is a potential wrist issue to monitor on top of a slow offensive start. The Dodgers have time to figure it out. But Friday’s update will be worth paying close attention to.
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