Shohei Ohtani has gone 0-for-14 with six strikeouts through the first two games of the National League Championship Series, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are now discussing what was previously unthinkable: whether to sit their $700 million designated hitter.
The Dodgers trail the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. Ohtani's postseason batting average sits at .087 across 23 plate appearances this October. He has struck out 11 times and drawn two walks. Manager Dave Roberts fielded three separate questions about Ohtani's lineup placement following Game 2's 4-1 loss. He deflected each one with a variation of "we'll evaluate" rather than his usual declarative support.
The calculus is straightforward and uncomfortable. Ohtani cannot pitch until 2025 following elbow surgery. He is a pure hitter, and the hits are not coming. The Dodgers have Chris Taylor, David Peralta, and Jason Heyward available, each posting better postseason numbers this month. Taylor is hitting .273 with two doubles in limited October at-bats. Meanwhile, Milwaukee's pitching staff is attacking Ohtani with elevated fastballs and sliders low and away, the same blueprint that neutralized him in 2023's Division Series when he went 1-for-16 with the Angels.
What matters here is not just the box score. It is the contractual and franchise-brand tension now visible to every team president watching this series. The Dodgers committed $700 million over 10 years with the explicit understanding that Ohtani's dual-threat value would be deferred until 2025, when his surgically repaired elbow clears him to pitch again. Until then, he is a designated hitter being paid $2 million in actual 2024 salary—most of the deal is deferred, a structured arrangement that gave Los Angeles payroll flexibility. That flexibility was supposed to buy postseason runway. Instead, it has surfaced a question no front office wants asked aloud: Do you bench the face of your franchise in an elimination scenario?
The sponsor exposure is equally delicate. Ohtani anchors $50 million in annual endorsement deals, much of it tied to apparel and trading cards that move based on postseason visibility. New Balance, Fanatics, and Topps all built 2024 product lines around his Dodgers debut. A benching, even for one game, sends a signal those partners will note when discussing 2025 activation budgets. The same calculus applies to FOX, which is broadcasting this series and built its promotional spots around Ohtani's crossover appeal to casual viewers and the Japanese market.
Roberts has benched struggling stars before. He sat Cody Bellinger for stretches in 2021 and limited Max Muncy's usage during cold spells. But neither carried Ohtani's contract structure or global marketing footprint. The decision tree here is cleaner for a traditional front office: if the player is not producing, you adjust. Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, has built his reputation on unsentimental optimization. He traded fan favorites, released popular veterans, and reallocated payroll without hesitation. This is the same logic, applied to a much larger contract and a much brighter spotlight.
Milwaukee leads the series and has home-field advantage for Game 3. The Brewers' pitching staff knows the blueprint is working. Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc spent 40 minutes with Ohtani in the cage before Game 2, focusing on timing adjustments against high fastballs. The results were 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. Ohtani's swing is late on velocity and early on breaking balls, a mechanical disconnect that does not resolve in 48 hours during a playoff series.
The follow-on events are narrow and fast. Game 3 is Friday night in Milwaukee. Roberts will submit his lineup card 90 minutes before first pitch. If Ohtani sits, the announcement will come in that window, not before. If he plays and goes hitless again, the conversation moves from internal discussion to external pressure, the kind that forces decisions in 24-hour cycles rather than 72-hour ones. Sponsors will watch to see whether Ohtani appears in Game 3's starting nine or shifts to a late-inning substitution role, a softer demotion that preserves some visibility.
The Dodgers have 72 hours to reverse a 2-0 series deficit or face elimination by Monday. Ohtani's next at-bat will determine whether this remains a performance slump or becomes a franchise-crisis case study on how much visibility a $700 million contract can buy when the production is not there.
The takeaway
Ohtani's **0-for-14** NLCS start puts Friedman's optimization principles against **$700M** contract optics with sponsors watching lineup card Friday.
Editorial & Disclosure Notice: This article was written with artificial intelligence from public sources and is published without individual human review. Artificial intelligence and other digital tools are also used for research, analysis, editing, formatting, and production. Errors, omissions, outdated information, or inaccuracies may occur. References to companies, brands, products, services, organizations, or individuals are for informational and editorial purposes and do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, affiliation, partnership, or approval unless expressly stated. All trademarks and other intellectual property remain the property of their respective owners. Opinions, analysis, estimates, and commentary are informational only and should not be construed as financial, investment, legal, tax, medical, procurement, or other professional advice. Information may be corrected, clarified, or updated after publication. Corrections or removal requests: jenny@pops4.com.
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