Dodgers' Dave Roberts Provides Shohei Ohtani Injury Update After Scare

Shohei Ohtani was seen shaking his right wrist after striking out in the eighth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 4-1 loss against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday.

Ohtani appeared to be in some discomfort, leading to concerns regarding the two-way superstar.

Shohei Ohtani with some right wrist discomfort? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/SyR54hnMny
— DodgersMuse (@LADodgersMuse) April 2, 2026

Manager Dave Roberts was asked about Ohtani after Wednesday's game.

“I don’t know," Roberts said. "I saw that too after that last strikeout. So I’ll get a report from [trainer] Thomas [Albert] after this session.”

Shohei Ohtani Injury Update

The Dodgers were off on Thursday, so there was no update on Ohtani. On Friday, ahead of the team's series opener against the Nationals, Roberts had some news on the two-way star.

"I talked to Thomas about it, and he said it's a non-issue," Roberts said. "That's good news that it's not an issue."

Ohtani was in the lineup batting in his usual leadoff spot.

Dodgers Offense Struggling to Open 2026 Season

Ohtani is off to a slow start this season, as he entered Friday's game just 3-for-18 (.167) with zero home runs and zero runs batted in.

Ohtani has drawn seven walks, but he hasn't been able to get his bat going, which has frustrated him early in the year.

“I’ve been able to get on base, and that’s a good thing,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Tuesday. “But on pitches that I should be making impact, I’m not quite able to do that to the extent that I should be able to. That’s the part that I’m not quite happy about.”

It's not just Ohtani, though, as seemingly the entire Dodgers lineup is struggling early in the year.

None of Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith or Teoscar Hernández has an OPS above .700.

“It’s obviously a very talented lineup, and right now, it just seems like a lot of guys are in-between,” Roberts said. "The amount of strikeouts is a little concerning, and we’re striking out at quite a clip, but I think it’ll level out."

Key Dodgers players through 6 games:

Shohei Ohtani: .167 AVG, .590 OPS
Kyle Tucker: .174 AVG, .457 OPS
Mookie Betts: .136 AVG, .558 OPS
Freddie Freeman: .208 AVG, .615 OPS
Will Smith: .200 AVG, .700 OPS
Teoscar Hernández: .238 AVG, .476 OPS

Who are you most concerned about? pic.twitter.com/m2ZWS3jXOo
— Dodgers On SI (@DodgersOnSI) April 2, 2026

Freddie Freeman knows the offense should be better. He believes they'll break out sooner rather than later.

“I think you can talk to every single one of us and [we would] say we wish we had a better offensive first week,” Freeman said. “But I think our offense is inevitable. Hopefully maybe tomorrow with the off day, the coldness will go away and we’ll heat up on Friday in the day [at Washington].”

Roberts also hopes for better results on the road.

“I think right now, offensively, most of our guys are scuffling,” Roberts said. “It’ll be good to get on the road, get an off day, and get going from there.”

The Dodgers play three games in Washington before traveling to Toronto for a World Series rematch against the Blue Jays in what should be a raucous atmosphere. The Dodgers entered Friday's series opener with a record of 4-2.