On September 1, it was announced that Stan Kroenke would buy the Anaheim Angels from Arte Moreno for more than $4 billion, eclipsing the highest sale price for an MLB team, set recently by the San Diego Padres. The Angels deal is noteworthy because the team’s lease on the city-owned land runs through 2032.
While word started circulating online that Kroenke was going to build a new stadium, nothing has been confirmed at this time. Angel Stadium is a bit of an underwhelming dump.
On August 28, Gov. Newsom
signed AB-2512, “The Home Run for Anaheim Act.” Per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, the law provides the city of Anaheim with an incentive if the team wishes to develop the 150-acre Angel Stadium property; state law would prioritize affordable housing within the site. If the team sought an exemption to this requirement:
In an era when team owners covet the profits from development around stadiums and arenas — including places for fans to eat, drink and shop 365 days a year, not just on game days — Anaheim could seek an exemption from the affordable housing law. That wouldn’t rule out housing on the site, but it would give a team more flexibility to build whatever project might be considered most profitable.
If the city obtains the exemption, the new law says, “then any materials, including, but not limited to, a lease, deed of sale, and promotional or marketing materials, shall refer to that team as the Anaheim Angels.
If you are thinking that this law is a roundabout way to fix the name of the Anaheim team, you would not be wrong. While the Angels have officially been known as the Los Angeles Angels in recent years, I have made it a point to refuse to capitulate for three reasons:
- It’s geographically wrong – Anaheim is not Los Angeles, nor is Anaheim in Los Angeles County
- It’s a linguistic nightmare – Los Angeles in Spanish is the angels, so effectively, the organization is adopting the the angels angels as a name
- I’m petty – I refuse to let Arte Moreno’s gambit to pander to Los Angeles work
Arte Moreno is set to make a massive profit, having bought the team for $184 million in 2003. We have made much merry as to the organization’s staggering incompetence over the past five years. The Angels had prime Mike Trout and prime Shohei Ohtani and could not get close to a .500 record, much less a championship after the pair’s first year together.
Ohtani has gone two-for-two in championships since arriving in Los Angeles. It is striking that the Dodgers have something in common with the Angels: they are bungling their handling of Shohei Ohtani.
Ignore your lying eyes?
There is something physically wrong with Shohei Ohtani. Only now, the Dodgers might finally be doing something about it.
As a fan, you’ve seen it with your own eyes for months. First, Ohtani hurt his left knee, which sidelined him from the start on July 3. On July 29th, Dave Roberts announced that Ohtani was also dealing with a right bicep issue.
Ohtani has not pitched in the second half.
The Japanese Superman has looked far more like Clark Kent at the plate in the second half, with a slash line of .250/.333/.476 with 9 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 22 RBI, 5 SB (out of 6 tries), 19 BB, and 49 Ks. This slash line would be fine for a player with a lower ceiling, but over the past two years, Ohtani has been a dynamic force on offense, outside of the 2024 World Series when he injured his shoulder.
Now, Ohtani just looks normal, which should be setting off alarm bells all over Dodger Nation. This offensive malaise, which feels overly dramatic here but Ohtani has set the bar ridiculously high in his two previous campaigns, came to a head on September 2 when Ohtani had one of the more physically uncomfortable at-bats in memory, mimicking the Tin Man (sans oil) of “The Wizard of Oz.”
It was heroic when Kirk Gibson essentially was “all arms, no legs” against Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. But circumstances and context matter. For Ohtani to be in the same position on September 2 borders on professional malpractice.
GM Brandon Gomes added fuel to this argument by disputing Ohtani’s struggles can be tied to how he’s been feeling physically. I do not see how one can credibly make this argument.
One need only compare Ohtani to Kyle Tucker, who is clearly physically fine but mired in an existential mental crisis that seems to deepen with each lazy pop up while at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani looks to be physically impaired, which is not the same thing.
Dustin Nosler of Dodgers Digest wrote an excellent, comprehensive breakdown of how Ohtani has been struggling at the plate in the second half of 2026. Rather than repeat or duplicate his work, I will instead heartily recommend that everyone read it, while I summarize the key points.
- Ohtani’s average and whiff rate are getting worse
- Pitchers are starting to work Ohtani up and away, but are also challenging him in the heart of the plate.
- As a result, Ohtani’s chase rate has gone up
Nosler comes to a stark conclusion based on what we have seen before:
Now, Ohtani didn’t suddenly forget how to hit. Superhuman ball players don’t just lose it in the span of a couple months. It can all be traced back to the knee injury (and, possibly, the bicep injury).
While this version of Ohtani is productive — and we’ve seen some flashes of him being pre-June 13 Ohtani — he isn’t what the struggling Dodgers’ offense needs. They need the guy he has been the last two years, but it’s increasingly unlikely he’s going to be that guy while managing the knee injury.
At some point, if/when do the Dodgers force the issue and put Ohtani on the injured list? Because if this is the version of Ohtani we get for the rest of 2026, coupled with no pitching, might not be enough to secure a 3-peat. Yes, the other hitters in the lineup have to do their respective part, but it all starts and ends with Ohtani.
[Emphasis added.]
The MVP cake is baked
When one takes a broader view of what is left in the year, a lot of the noise falls away when one remembers what the actual goal is.
While the Dodgers have played footsie as to when Ohtani will return to the mound, circumstances surrounding whether the team was asking the right question came to a head after the Dodgers coughed up another game against a sub-500 opponent in 2025-fashion. Dave Roberts spoke to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic after Game 2 of the Cardinals series about Ohtani’s status:
“Tonight was kind of the tip of the iceberg,” manager Dave Roberts said of his star, whose every limp and wince has become a major talking point for the reigning back-to-back World Series champions.
“I’ve seen it over the last couple weeks, where he hasn’t been who he is.”
Roberts downplayed Ohtani going on the injured list, while acknowledging that he and the training staff would talk to Ohtani about what to do in the remaining 22 games of the regular season.
“I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup,” Roberts said. “(That) if he’s upright, he should play. I respect that. But if he’s feeling the way that visibly looks, then really not helping anyone.”
“I saw the same thing that everyone saw,” Roberts said. “I saw the shaking of the arm. I saw the wincing. Clearly, the swings aren’t who he is.”
“I think he’s just going to have to find a way to make do and do the best he can,” Roberts said. “But what can I do? Have the conversation. Get him off his feet. Kind of try to get some strength back. Get him feeling better, and then run them out there.”
[Emphasis added.]
For all the talk of Ohtani not having any restrictions this year as a two-way player, it sure is helpful that he expended all that effort on starts in Houston and San Francisco in May. Hindsight is 20/20, but it feels that everyone took their eye of the ball here.
The Dodgers’ personnel moves with the September roster expansion, which merit their own rant/discussion, only make sense if Ohtani is finally put on the injured list to recuperate. The Dodgers have a catcher on the roster who literally cannot catch right now: Dalton Rushing.
While no one is eager to relive the “Dalton Rushing is now accidentally important at work” arc, half measures of giving Ohtani a day off here and there seem woefully inadequate and short-sighted. Plus, Rushing has been out of action, so some daily reps might get him back to speed, especially if he ends up on the playoff roster.
Moreover, there’s no real point to having Ohtani drag himself to play right now, as battered as he is.
At worst, barring a collapse that would require people to be retired/forced out/sacked, the Dodgers will finish no worse than the third seed. That scenario is not ideal and likely creates the possibility of some darkly ironic situations in October. But the fact remains true with or without Ohtani.
As things stand, Shohei Ohtani’s streak of Most Valuable Player Awards is likely over, as the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong is having a bar trivia year (“Name the player to win the 2026 NL MVP award.”; see also “Name the player to win the 2018 World Series MVP.” — if you said Mookie Betts, you’d be wrong; it was Steve Pearce.).
The question I would ask
Ohtani wants to play every day, but it’s clear that every time he tries to take an extra base and every at-bat, he’s risking making his injuries worse.
If Ohtani still resists a stint on the injured list to recover, I would ask him the following question. And I apologize in advance for my awkward Japanese, as my studies are not to the point to let me communicate how I would in my native tongue even after two years plus of study:
大谷さん、あなたにとってより大切なのは何ですか。個人賞ですか、それとも団体優勝ですか？
(Otani-san, anatani totte yori taisetsunanowa nan’desuka kojin’shōdesuka soretomo dan’taiyūshōdesuka?)
(Mr. Ohtani, which is more important to you: an individual award of a team championship?)
At least, Ohtani demonstrated good sense in accepting sitting out Thursday’s finale against the Cardinals.
It appears unlikely that Ohtani will be stretched out or healthy enough to retake the mound as a starting pitcher in 2026. There have been rumblings that Ohtani should return to left field, which, honestly, is a terrible idea given the injuries we have covered in this article. If Ohtani can get back to some semblance of form, it might be wise to use him in a Sasaki-esque/World Baseball Classic-esque reliever role, which is fodder for later.
Frankly, if the Dodgers are going to go down in their title defense, I would rather Ohtani be on the mound than Tanner Scott or Edwin Diaz. I am hardly chicken on the matter, either.
No disrespect to Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Teoscar Hernandez, but if Ohtani ends up going down for the year, the chance of a three-peat goes kaput, right quick.
