Shohei Ohtani’s 15 days on the injured list are over. The Los Angeles Dodgers MVP is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday against the San Diego Padres. He was on the IL when the Dodgers clinched the NL West title, but the phenom must help the team secure a postseason bye. On Tuesday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also spoke about Ohtani’s return to the active roster.

“Shohei Ohtani will be activated by the Dodgers and return to their lineup when they play the Padres tomorrow, per Dave Roberts,” Dodgers Nation reported on X.

The Dodgers placed Ohtani on the IL for the first time since he joined the organization ahead of the 2024 season.

Already shut down from pitching due to knee inflammation, Ohtani landed on the IL after hitting in only three September games. He had already missed four games due to a lingering biceps issue and a sore neck when Ohtani tweaked his arm playing against the Cincinnati Reds on September 7. It prompted the Dodgers to place him on the 15-day IL.

In these two weeks, Ohtani recovered and ramped up to baseball activity.

He took at-bats with coach practice and the Trajekt machine. With 5 games remaining in the regular season, Ohtani will directly face live pitching on Wednesday and make up for the missed at-bats. Manager Roberts also confirmed the news, while mentioning that he now definitely better than when he joined the IL stint. The skipper even ranked him:

“I would say if he was a 5 [on a scale from 1-10], he’s probably an 8 or a 9 right now.”

“Unless I hear otherwise,” Roberts noted, per MLB.com. “he’ll be in the lineup [Wednesday].”

The Dodgers’ primary concern with Ohtani will be not to aggravate any lingering issues and ensure he can be at his best when the postseason eventually starts. They are not using him as a pitcher this season because back in August, when he was ramping up in the role, it coincided with his knee and bicep injury flare-up. That has been a lingering issue since June, and he first stopped pitching in early July. Finally, in August, the team announced that Shotime’s body wasn’t at 100% and decided to use him as a hitter only.

Before going on the IL, the struggle could be seen in his at-bats, too, as he was hitting at .198 and was struck out 34 times in those 24 games. Now, after missing 17 or 18 games in the regular season, we may not see the best version of Ohtani on the plate, but we hope he will be back in form by the time the playoffs start.

With the Dodgers’ magic number down to three, the team would aim for a postseason bye. If the Dodgers can directly enter the division series, they can use the additional days off to recover, especially with multiple stars returning from the IL.

Alongside Ohtani, Blake Snell is also set to return during the series against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.

Last week, Snell felt tightness in his groin before starting against the Cincinnati Reds. Even though he tried playing through it, he could only pitch one inning, raising concerns about his postseason availability.

Snell’s return will give the Dodgers’ rotation a major boost. In his mere 8 appearances, he has pitched 38.2 innings, recording 52 strikeouts and a 1.86 ERA. Last October, he pitched for 34 innings and recorded a 3.18 ERA. It’s almost certain that Blake Snell will find a rotation spot for the Dodgers’ postseason stretch, alongside Tarik Skubal, Tyler Glasnow, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

However, manager Roberts has yet to figure out the corresponding roster moves needed to add Ohtani to the lineup, while also reconsidering Ohtani’s at-bat position.

On Wednesday, lefty Robbie Ray is scheduled to take the mound, and Roberts is considering moving Ohtani from his usual leadoff spot.

Mookie Betts can hit leadoff against the Padres southpaw. Betts is hitting .373/.468/.746 with six homers in September. Hitting leadoff for the Dodgers in the last three games, the veteran went 7-for-12 with two homers, two doubles, and two walks. Betts hit leadoff (1-for-3) during the series opener against the Padres.

“That’s probably the way it’s going to fall out, but I haven’t totally decided yet,” Roberts said, per The Athletic.

“I am going to think through it a little bit, right versus left. I do think I should think through the Mookie versus (left-handed pitchers) situation, but I have to think about the entire lineup structure.”

The Dodgers are yet to play their most significant games of the year, and the defending World Series champions need Ohtani at his best.