Dodgers designated hitter has won the Hank Aaron Award, the honor given annually to the top offensive player in his league, in each of the previous three seasons, in 2023 with the Angels then in 2024-25 in his first two years with the Dodgers. Ohtani won’t win it this season, but he’s a finalist again, and deservedly so.
Now the Dodgers need Ohtani to find something, anything at the plate as they try to break a 1-1 tie in the National League Division Series against the Braves.
Ohtani has two singles
in eight at-bats during the NLDS, and since returning from the injured list on September 23 has seven hits, including a double, in 29 at-bats, with one walk and a strikeout. There was the September 24 game against the Padres in which he consistently hit the ball hard, but other than that Ohtani hasn’t gotten any real results at the plate for seven weeks.
He last homered on August 18 at Coors Field, and in 94 plate appearances since is hitting a paltry .160/.277/.198.
Ohtani was clearly diminished at the plate just before landing on the injured list four weeks ago, after dealing with left knee inflammation and a right biceps injury. All sides seem to agree Ohtani is not 100 percent, but when asked if his injuries would require offseason attention, Ohtani didn’t offer much in response.
“I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this. I think that process is going to happen during the off-season when I’m going to have a little bit more time to be able to address it,” Ohtani said, through interpreter Will Ireton, last Friday on the eve of the NLDS. “But as of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage.”
We probably won’t know the full extent of Ohtani’s maladies this season until some Instagram post with a considered-font graphic detailing whatever procedure he might have had once the season is done. But for now, if we take Ohtani and the Dodgers at their word and he is healthy enough to play, he hasn’t helped himself by chasing. Ohtani swung at seven pitches outside the strike zone in Game 2 alone on Sunday.
“I think that the amount of at-bats leading up to it, it was, I think, five games, I think you still — I felt good about having some at-bats to finish the season, the at-bats that he took in the bye week,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Monday in Atlanta on the workout day at Truist Park. “But at the end of the day, he can still do a better job of staying in the strike zone. I don’t think that that has anything to do with — he had the five games. He had the at-bats in between. I think that’s something that — it’s hard to have success when you’re out of the zone.”
Roberts in that same media session on Monday said he would even consider moving Ohtani even further down in the lineup. Ohtani batted second in two of his five regular season games after getting activated from the injured list and batted second in both NLDS games to date.
In three years with the Dodgers, Ohtani has only batted first or second, with his last time in another lineup spot coming in 2023, with 59 starts batting third for the Angels.
“I think moving him from 1 to 2 — but going further than that? I’m open to it,” Roberts said Monday. “And it’s something that if I do, I would obviously have the conversation with Shohei to explain why.”
While most of the last month and a half focused on what Ohtani hasn’t done, his overall numbers in 2026 were solid, and among the best in the sport. They just happen to pale in comparison to his 54-homer, 59-steal campaign followed by 55 home runs in his first two years with the Dodgers.
Ohtani hit .275/.377/.512 with 30 home runs, a 139 wRC+, 89 runs scored, 81 RBI, and 81 walks in 135 games. He’s one of 10 finalists for the National League Aaron Award, which will almost certainly go to Pete Crow-Armstrong.
2026 NL Hank Aaron Award finalists
- CJ Abrams – Washington Nationals
- Jake Bauers – Milwaukee Brewers
- Pete Crow-Armstrong – Chicago Cubs
- Elly De La Cruz – Cincinnati Reds
- Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Dodgers
- Matt Olson – Atlanta Braves
- Kyle Schwarber – Philadelphia Phillies
- Sal Stewart – Cincinnati Reds
- Fernando Tatis Jr. – San Diego Padres
- Jordan Walker – St. Louis Cardinals
The Aaron Award, which has existed since 1999, is decided by a panel of “MLB legends and past recipients of the prestigious award” plus fan voting that accumulates into one vote on the panel. The Hank Aaron Award winners in each league will be announced during the MLB awards show on November 11.
