Dodgers' Dave Roberts Makes Surprise Admission on Shohei Ohtani, Pete Crow-Armstrong MVP Race

Things suddenly got a whole lot more interesting in the National League's Most Valuable Player award race.

Just last month, it felt as if the NL MVP award could just be renamed to the "Shohei Ohtani award," at least for as long as he was both pitching and hitting.

Then, Ohtani was shut down from pitching, and currently has no timetable to return to the mound.

At this point, it appears more like an "if" than a "when" he pitches this season.

While Ohtani's hitting has remained elite, a fellow NL superstar has continued his own torrid 2026 season.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong doesn't only have nearly identical offensive numbers to those of Ohtani. He's also arguably the game's best defender in center field.

And that is where he's made the NL MVP race an actual race.

This week, the Dodgers and Cubs faced off at Wrigley Field, with the two MVP frontrunners going punch-for-punch it what felt like a heavyweight matchup.

Just a couple weeks ago, manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani was going to be the NL MVP whether or not he pitches again this season.

Shohei Ohtani’s pen session scheduled for today was postponed as he didn’t feel great in his last one. Dave Roberts said he still believes Ohtani will pitch again this season. And while the delay is “a bummer,” Roberts said that’s he’s going to be the MVP, regardless.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 25, 2026

This week, he seems to have changed his tune a bit.

“I haven’t followed the race,” Roberts said to reporters before Wednesday's game in which both Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong hit two home runs. “I have followed what Pete’s doing. And he’s figured some things out with the bat. He’s having a heck of a year. And he has rightfully made it a lot closer than most people expected. He’s had a tremendous season.”

After the game, he added: “They were going toe to toe. Obviously, there’s a lot of talk about those two guys being the front runners for the MVP. They both showed up, and you can see that they hear what’s being said about them.”

Both players were asked for their thoughts on the potential race. Ohtani, per usual, said he wasn't thinking about the award.

“It’s too early to think about that,” Ohtani said through team interpreter Will Ireton. “For me, it’s more important for the team to win and for me to contribute to that.”

“He’s a great player,” Ohtani added of Crow-Armstrong. “But I’m really focused on myself on the hitting side of things right now, really working towards hopefully getting back on the mound and working on that side of the game as well.”

As for Crow-Armstrong, he admitted he'd love to win the award, but is also just focused on winning.

“I would be crazy to say that I don’t want to win an MVP, but if we’re talking about having priorities straight, I think mine are pretty straight,” Crow-Armstrong said to reporters. “It’s not on the forefront of my mind. It’s fun to joke about, and it’s fun to acknowledge, and I think it’s absolutely OK to pay attention to, but it’s not following me up to the plate.”

He added: "I think if you guys want to talk about all this back and forth, I really should go get in the lab and start pitching. I really should."

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