The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without Shohei Ohtani this weekend, though it’s for a good reason.
Ohtani remained in Los Angeles while the Dodgers traveled to north Texas to kick off their series with the Rangers on Friday, manager Dave Roberts confirmed, via The Los Angeles Times. Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, are expecting the birth of their first child this weekend.
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It’s unclear how long Ohtani will be away from the team. He landed on the paternity list, where he can stay for up to three days. After a three-game series with the Rangers, the Dodgers will travel to Chicago to play a two-game stint with the Cubs at Wrigley Field starting on Tuesday.
The Dodgers called up Eddie Rosario to replace Ohtani on the roster while he is away.
Ohtani has been incredibly private about his personal life. It wasn’t known that he was even in a relationship with Tanaka, who is a former professional basketball player in Japan, until the month after he announced their marriage. The couple revealed in December that they were expecting their first child.
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Ohtani holds a .288 batting average with six home runs and eight RBI over 20 games with the Dodgers this season. The 30-year-old — who helped lead the Dodgers to a World Series win last season, won his third MVP and became the first player in league history to complete a 50-50 campaign — underwent elbow surgery at the end of last season. He’s yet to take the mound again, and spent all of last season as the full-time DH. It’s unknown when Ohtani will pitch again, though Roberts said earlier this week that Ohtani is “still a couple months away” from doing so.
The Dodgers hold a 14-6 record this season entering Friday night’s game at Globe Life Field. They’ve won five of their last seven games, which includes a three-game sweep over the Colorado Rockies earlier this week.
