‘A big blow to the Dodgers’: Shohei Ohtani injury sparks concern

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has missed six of the team's last seven games due to discomfort in his right arm. Now, the Dodgers have decided to place him on the injured list.

After the Dodgers' 14-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night, manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Ohtani would be placed on the injured list. The team will also call up top outfield prospect Josue De Paula from Double-A to temporarily fill in for Ohtani at designated hitter.

Ohtani has not pitched since July 3 because of soreness in his left knee, which resurfaced when he attempted to throw his latest bullpen session on Aug. 28. On Monday, Ohtani admitted that he will "most likely" not pitch again this season. However, the two-way superstar has also been dealing with health issues on the offensive side.

The latest injury concerns emerged last Wednesday, when Ohtani shook his right arm while heading into the dugout following a 10th-inning strikeout. He was subsequently left out of the lineup the next day before also missing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Ohtani returned Monday and went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts, but he was back out of the lineup Tuesday. Roberts revealed that Ohtani experienced pain in his right arm during one of his swings Monday, leading the Dodgers to take the possibility of an injured-list stint more seriously.

Following Wednesday's game, Roberts officially confirmed the decision.

Roberts told reporters that placing Ohtani on the IL was "the right thing to do," while adding, "We tried to kick the can as much as we could."

Despite the decision, Roberts said he was "very" confident that Ohtani would be healthy enough to rejoin the Dodgers when the postseason gets underway.

"If it were a postseason game tomorrow, he would be in the lineup," Roberts said via ESPN . "Now you're talking about two weeks, 14 days. I feel that it's that substantial. He'll be in a much better place than he was today. Is it gonna be 100%? Probably not. But I do think, with this time that we're taking now, he'll be in an adequate spot to finish the season and beyond."

Needless to say, this news led to a lot of reactions and concern on social media.

"Look, only the Dodgers and Ohtani truly know how serious this is. But after everything we learned today, I think it's safe to say we're headed toward an IL stint — and honestly, I wouldn't expect to see Ohtani again until October. Why risk making it worse? The NL West is essentially wrapped up, and the Dodgers have a three-game cushion over Atlanta for the No. 2 seed. Get healthy. Stay healthy. Get ready for October," wrote Cody Snavely of DodgersBeat.

"It's a big blow to the Dodgers, and Dave Roberts claiming Shohei Ohtani might not return at 100 percent for the postseason is a bit more concerning," wrote sportswriter Victor Okechukwu .

"I do think that the Dodgers are going to 'turn it on' in October and make a run at least to the NLCS, BUT baseball is a long unforgiving year. There's a reason 3-peats have only happened 4 times before. (Again, not that Dodgers can't, they can, but it's not a foregone conclusion)," added another fan .

"It's almost as if humans weren't meant to pitch and hit. Who knew?" another fan wrote .

Ohtani's earliest possible return from the 15-day IL will come on Sept. 23. We'll have to see when the Dodgers welcome him back.