Shohei Ohtani to Keep Up Two-Way Play Next Season — Surgery on Injured Areas Under Consideration This Offseason; 5ch: “Don’t Try to Rein In a Genius”

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The story

U.S. media report that the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, reflecting on an injury-plagued 2026 season as “really frustrating,” has signaled his intent to keep playing two-way (both pitching and hitting) next season (2027) as well. As for the state of his left knee and right biceps, surgery is reportedly among the options being considered during the offseason. Following the report from a Sports Illustrated journalist, reactions on 5ch were split. Some voices backed him, saying “just let the genius do what he wants,” while others were skeptical given his repeated injuries, worrying “won’t this just mean another long layoff?” Some posts also dredged up the past episode in which he reportedly hadn’t told the team about discomfort in his right arm.

The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, having wrapped up an injury-plagued 2026 season, revealed his feelings, calling it “really frustrating.”

While the issues with his left knee and right biceps may involve surgery as an option during the offseason, he indicated he intends to keep playing two-way in 2027.

Sports Illustrated reporter Gabe Smallson disclosed this on October 17 (October 18 in Japan time).

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

4AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:50
Don't try to hold back a genius with normal-person standards.
If he says he wants to do it, just let him do it.
5AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:51
Enough already with this guy.
Who's even expecting anything from him anymore?
63AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:11
Re: #5
These are the grandchildren of the people who got hyped up by the media and worshipped Rikidozan back in the day.
6AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:51
Man, I wish the season would hurry up and start —
once he's slumping again, all this 'Ohtani harassment' talk will die down too.
53AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:06
Re: #6
Why are you more eager for the season to start than for the offseason you're in right now?
7AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:51
Alright, two-way Ohtani continues next season!
Keep the haters-losing-their-minds-and-running-away festival going!
8AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:52
Surgery again?
Sounds like he's in for another long recovery next year too.
10AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:52
Give me a break already
— I just want him to hit home runs.
11AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:52
Ohtani just doesn't want to admit he's past his prime.
Can't wait to see his stats next season (sarcasm).
13AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:53
So he's getting his knee cleaned out?
Better to do it early — recovery to getting back into training only takes about a month.
14AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:54
From now on, if you get hurt, make sure to actually report it to your boss instead of hiding it, got it?
Why does he need to be told something even a grade-schooler already understands?
15AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:54
Big Sho turns 33 next year
— can't even hope for a full healthy season anymore.
17AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:54
Wouldn't it actually be better for him to go pitcher-only at this point?
Let's aim for the Cy Young.
18AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:55
If he doesn't slim down, that knee's never going to get better 🥺
21AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:56
Re: #18
Even if the pain settles down over the offseason, it'll just flare up again once the season starts.
19AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:55
The whole point is getting the trash media (マスゴミ, a derogatory term for the mass media) to hype him up nonstop — the actual baseball is just a bonus to the 'two-way' act.
20AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:56
Does this mean another hike in the NHK license fee has finally cleared the way to bring in AI?
22AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:56
Don't talk like 'if he breaks, we'll just fix him again' is a fine attitude to have.
23AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:57
I'm a huge fan.
Thanks for everything, always!

Still, he might want to drop a little weight though.
33AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:00
Re: #23
But if he slims down into pitcher-shape like he did in the first half, his home runs drop, don't they?
24AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:57
If he doesn't keep saying 'I'll pitch too!' he can't exactly stay on as a DH-only guy sitting on the bench, can he?
28AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:58
> It later came out that he hadn't initially reported the issue with his right arm to the team.

That's just low.
30AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:59
He's just swapping out which 'blade' he's using — that's not really 'two-way' in any meaningful sense.
31AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:59
If he were the type to give up two-way just because people told him to focus on one, he wouldn't have started doing two-way in the first place.
34AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:00
Bow down to the Dodgers' stopper, Sasaki!
38AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:02
Get the surgery now since it's the offseason.
Worst case, I'm fine with him missing the first half.
40AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:02
If he has surgery in November, he'll have plenty of time to be ready for Opening Day.
41AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:03
Re: #29
Pretty much everyone in the world outside Japan and the US:
Who's this guy?
43AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:03
He's always getting surgery.
He should take some notes from Yoshinobu Yamamoto's training — that guy barely ever gets hurt.
It's all that dumb heavy lifting that gets him injured in the first place.

*Ichiro has said something along the lines of: 'Strength training makes your muscles bigger, but it puts extra strain on the joints that support them — which isn't really ideal, since the joints themselves can't be trained.'
44AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:03
If he'd kept up his first-half performance in the second half too, he'd have the MVP locked up — of course he's going to keep doing two-way.
87AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:20
I'll rest easy and wait for his comeback.
Though after seeing that home run, I don't think there's any problem at all.
90AnonymousOct 21, 2026 13:22
Re: #87
There's no way he's hurt when he's smashing balls out of the park with swings that full lol

Background and Key Points of This Topic

The debate over injury risk tied to two-way play has been a recurring theme ever since Ohtani first took on the challenge of playing in MLB, and this thread isn’t breaking any new ground on that front. In particular, regarding the right biceps issue, there’s a backstory in which he reportedly didn’t promptly report the problem to the team during the season, and several posts in the thread touch on that point. One thing worth noting: this information is based on reporting by a Sports Illustrated journalist, and surgery remains strictly at the “under consideration” stage — it is not a confirmed team announcement about whether or when it will happen. Reading just the headline, it’s easy to assume the surgery has already been decided, but in reality, the plan for next season depends on how the offseason unfolds and on the final decision made by Ohtani and the team.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku+) thread “[MLB] Shohei Ohtani signals intent to continue two-way play next season… Regarding the injured areas, surgery is being considered as one option during the offseason.”

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