LA Times sportswriter has unhinged Shohei Ohtani take after Dodgers fall short of World Series
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times argued that Shohei Ohtani should stop pitching for the Dodgers, and suggested the club consider trading him if he refuses. The article rejects that proposal as irrational, while acknowledging that Ohtani’s injuries and late-season slump may have affected his performance.
The Dodgers were swept by Milwaukee in the National League Championship Series, missing the World Series for a third straight season. Los Angeles hit .195/.267/.323 in October and went 5 for 43 with runners in scoring position; in Game Four, Milwaukee scored six runs despite a lower expected batting average than the Dodgers. Ohtani plans to remain a two-way player in 2027, and the article argues that his hitting and pitching remain exceptionally valuable.
In short
- Plaschke says Ohtani should quit pitching or be traded.
- The Dodgers were swept by Milwaukee and missed the World Series.
- The article says Ohtani’s value makes trading him unjustifiable.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The Dodgers’ playoff exit and Ohtani’s late-season slump make it reasonable to ask whether pitching is adding enough to justify its demands on his health and batting. If his pitching workload raises injury risk or leaves him less effective at the plate, the club could protect its most valuable offensive contribution by limiting or ending his pitching role; trading him could be considered if he and the club cannot agree on that approach.
The case against
Ohtani’s value comes from excelling as both a hitter and a pitcher, and his strong overall contributions make abandoning either role a costly response to a short slump and a team-wide failure to hit in October. Injuries warrant careful workload management, but they do not by themselves show that pitching caused the Dodgers’ defeat or that trading a rare two-way star would improve the club.