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
If he says he wants to do it, just let him do it.
Who's even expecting anything from him anymore?
These are the grandchildren of the people who got hyped up by the media and worshipped Rikidozan back in the day.
once he's slumping again, all this 'Ohtani harassment' talk will die down too.
Why are you more eager for the season to start than for the offseason you're in right now?
Keep the haters-losing-their-minds-and-running-away festival going!
Sounds like he's in for another long recovery next year too.
— I just want him to hit home runs.
Can't wait to see his stats next season (sarcasm).
Better to do it early — recovery to getting back into training only takes about a month.
Why does he need to be told something even a grade-schooler already understands?
— can't even hope for a full healthy season anymore.
Let's aim for the Cy Young.
Even if the pain settles down over the offseason, it'll just flare up again once the season starts.
Thanks for everything, always!
Still, he might want to drop a little weight though.
But if he slims down into pitcher-shape like he did in the first half, his home runs drop, don't they?
That's just low.
Worst case, I'm fine with him missing the first half.
Pretty much everyone in the world outside Japan and the US:
Who's this guy?
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.'
Though after seeing that home run, I don't think there's any problem at all.
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.”
