Shohei Ohtani is not healthy. How long will the Dodgers let him play through it?

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani could no longer hide his physical discomfort. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar shook his bothersome right arm as he returned to the bat rack after his fourth strikeout of the night, peeled off his arm sleeve and trudged down the tunnel to the clubhouse before the final out of Wednesday night’s 8-6 extra-inning loss against the St. Louis Cardinals was recorded.

Ohtani is hurting, enough now that the Dodgers can no longer ignore it.

“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.”

Everything for the Dodgers starts with Ohtani, whose health is now the most pressing question for a club that has played middling baseball for two months. The four-time MVP has not pitched in a game since July and has clearly been battling left knee inflammation and occasional flare-ups of right biceps discomfort for months. Yet he’s remained in the lineup.

That might change. Roberts said he plans to talk to Ohtani and the Dodgers’ training staff to gauge what is best for Ohtani going forward. Roberts downplayed the idea of shutting down Ohtani completely and placing him on the injured list, calling it “unlikely” while leaving open the possibility that his stance could change. A day off could be in play, at the very least, though Roberts conceded even an IL stint would not necessarily guarantee Ohtani can get back to 100 percent this 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.”

There is just no way he’s healthy. pic.twitter.com/o9uz4APY8S

— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 3, 2026

Roberts spoke for Ohtani, who has not spoken to reporters since Aug. 17. Since his last media session, Ohtani has ramped up on the mound and faced hitters, then scrapped tentative plans to pitch in a big-league game when he didn’t feel 100 percent after a bullpen session.

The Dodgers have balanced Ohtani’s health with keeping alive the dream of using him as a two-way player again this season. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told The Athletic on Tuesday he still believed Ohtani would pitch in a big-league game this season. Then Wednesday provided yet another data point against that belief.

Ohtani’s health issues now appear to be bleeding into his offense. He put up a .795 OPS in August, the lowest mark in any month of his first three seasons in a Dodgers uniform, and his worst since his opening month in 2022.

Since Aug. 15, when Ohtani most recently resumed throwing bullpen sessions and ramping up to pitch, he is hitting .203 with a .742 OPS.

Ohtani’s at-bats Wednesday reflected his current state. He drew a four-pitch walk in his first trip to the plate and was hit on the right arm in his second. Ohtani swung through a slider, then took a pair of strikes to punch out looking on three pitches from the Cardinals’ Gordon Graceffo in the fourth inning. He jerked his right arm after fouling off a pitch against George Soriano, then swung over a slider to strike out on four pitches in the sixth. An inning later, Ryne Stanek struck him out on three pitches — with Ohtani swinging through a pair of 99 mph fastballs on the top rail.

He looked to be grimacing with each swing by the time he faced closer Riley O’Brien in the 10th. The eight-pitch battle ended in Ohtani being fitted for a golden sombrero after his fourth strikeout of the night.

“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.”

Ohtani has been the standard-bearer for the Dodgers’ offense since his arrival, and in recent weeks, he has not been able to pull the group out of its months-long funk. Wednesday’s loss dropped the Dodgers to 26-26 since July 1.

They stranded 13 baserunners Wednesday and went 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position. That statistic stung Freddie Freeman, whose three-run homer in the first inning (his first in 47 games) was the Dodgers’ lone hit in that situation.

“We were?” Freeman said. “That’s probably why we lost.”

Two of the failed at-bats were Ohtani strikeouts. The Dodgers need to get right, and need to get Ohtani right. For months, their solution has been having him lead off as the designated hitter. The conversation between manager, player and training staff Thursday will dictate whether that plan continues.

“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.”