Shohei Ohtani Not in Dodgers’ Lineup on Wednesday, Here’s Why

Eva Geitheim | May 1, 2024

Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY

For the first time this season, Shohei Ohtani will not play. The Los Angeles Dodgers have given their $700 million designated hitter the day off for Wednesday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed this is a normal day off for Ohtani, per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.

Standard day off for Shohei Ohtani, Dave Roberts said.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) May 1, 2024

The Dodgers are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, when the game got delayed two hours due to bees swarming the net behind home plate. The delay caused the game to go on until late Tuesday night, and Ohtani will now take the next game off.

Prior to getting Wednesday's game off, Ohtani was one of the four Dodgers to have played in every game this season along with teammates Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández and Mookie Betts. With Ohtani out of the lineup, Freeman will bat second, catcher Will Smith will bat third and play as the designated hitter, and Hernández will bat fourth. Catcher Austin Barnes will make his return to the lineup for the first time this series.

Tonight’s #Dodgers lineup at D-backs: pic.twitter.com/fqOr5HnGup

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 1, 2024

The Dodgers will have to make do without one of their best hitters against the Diamondbacks. Ohtani has slashed .336/.399/.618 this season with seven home runs and 19 RBIs. Ohtani is top-10 in both batting average and home runs in his first season with the Dodgers.

While there's no replacing Ohtani, the Dodgers should be capable of getting a win without him. Los Angeles is 19-13 on the season, and hold plenty of other great stars in Freeman, Betts and Smith, among others.

With the Dodgers having the day off on Thursday, Ohtani is expected to return to the lineup on Friday, when the Dodgers return home to Dodger Stadium to take on the Atlanta Braves. The 20-9 Braves have been one of the best squads in MLB over the last few years, and the Dodgers will need Ohtani ready to take on one of their biggest NL rivals.