Shohei Ohtani wants to be a two-way player again next season.
asserted
Ohtani → want → ?
What he said was expected.
asserted
said → say → What
How he said it was worrisome.
asserted
it → say → ?
“I intend on doing everything,” he said in Japanese.
asserted
he → intend → Japanese
Is next season destined to end the way this one did for the Dodgers, with a broken-down Ohtani rendering their lineup incapable of generating the offense required to return to the World Series?
asserted
lineup → destine → Series
As Ohtani catalogued his frustrations from his injury-plagued season after the Dodgers were swept out of the playoffs by the Brewers on Thursday night, one particular failure seemed to bother him more than the others.
“I wasn’t able to pitch in the postseason,” he said.
asserted
he → catalogue → postseason
This was either the best news the Dodgers could have received or an early death knell for their next season.
uncertain
Dodgers → receive → season
Depends on what Ohtani does to improve his chances of pitching next October.
asserted
Ohtani → depend → chances
Does he modify his in-season pitching schedule and accept some form of load management?
That would give him a chance, not only to pitch in games that matter most, but also to remain the difference-making hitter the Dodgers need him to be.
asserted
him → modify → games
Or does he simply change his offseason workout regimen in hopes that he can strengthen his body to where it can withstand pitching and hitting from Opening Day to the last game of the World Series?
asserted
it → change → Series
Considering how quickly his season was derailed and the effects those injuries had on him as a hitter, that plan would be an invitation for disaster.
asserted
plan → consider → disaster
Ohtani turns 33 next year.
asserted
Ohtani → turn → 33
He didn’t specify what he was thinking, other than that he would start deliberating a course of action now that the Dodgers were in their offseason.
asserted
Dodgers → specify → offseason
The ambiguity that was both a source of optimism and concern was the result of how Ohtani addressed reporters.
asserted
Ohtani → address → reporters
A horde of journalists from the United States, Japan and who knows where else formed a semicircle around Ohtani, who fielded inquiries in a scattershot question-and-answer session that lasted about seven minutes.
asserted
that → know → session
Generally speaking, the questions he was asked were lacking in detail — or, in some cases, the details were lost as they passed through Ohtani’s interpreter.
asserted
they → speak → interpreter
When Ohtani said something noteworthy — the statements quoted above, for example — more pointed questions on the subject couldn’t be asked because another journalist wanted to ask about something entirely different.
asserted
journalist → say → something
For example, when Ohtani acknowledged that he could undergo offseason surgery but didn’t say what body part he might have to repair, there was no follow-up question on the subject.
uncertain
he → acknowledge → subject
Some bozo Japanese reporter at the front of the mob asked an unnecessarily verbose question about what he, Shohei Ohtani, saw in the Brewers that the Dodgers were lacking.
asserted
Dodgers → ask → that
(Ohtani was known to be dealing with discomfort in his right arm and left knee when he was placed on the injured list in September.
asserted
he → know → September
When manager Dave Roberts was asked what was bothering Ohtani before Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, he replied, “It’s everything.
asserted
It → ask → Series
It’s the upper body.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
It’s the knee.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
While Ohtani left unanswered questions about his health status, and perhaps deliberately so, he made it a point to expound on his desire to be a two-way player again.
asserted
it → leave → desire
He spoke of his disappointment of not being able to take the mound in the playoffs, as well as at the end of the regular season.
asserted
He → speak → season
“That’s a point of dissatisfaction,” Ohtani said.
asserted
Ohtani → ’ → dissatisfaction
He continued, “Of course, I feel like I want to continue [playing both ways].
asserted
I → continue → ways
Because of that, I want to have a good offseason.”
asserted
I → want → offseason
Right after saying he planned on “doing everything,” Ohtani said, “I want to do my best so that I can have a better season [than this season].”
asserted
I → say → season
Effort alone won’t make that happen, of course, and this is where the Dodgers have to step in.
asserted
Dodgers → make → course
Rather than continue to be his servants, they have to be his partners.
asserted
they → continue → ?
Practicality doesn’t appeal to Ohtani.
asserted
Practicality → appeal → Ohtani
Dreams do.
asserted
Dreams → do → ?
But unlike in 2025 when the Dodgers were playing the Blue Jays and Ohtani lasted just 2 ⅓ innings, this time he is the winning pitcher.
asserted
he → play → innings
The Dodgers can get him there, maybe by giving him more time between starts, maybe by holding him out as a pitcher in the early stages of the season.
asserted
Dodgers → get → season
Ohtani doesn’t sound as if he has a firm plan in place, which means the Dodgers have an opportunity to shape his thinking.
asserted
Dodgers → sound → thinking
They have to take advantage of it.
asserted
They → have → it
The Aporia
