What is Shohei Ohtani still doing on the Dodgers active roster?

Shohei Ohtani said he could pitch through the discomfort in his knee.Until he couldn’t.Even then, he insisted could be the Dodgers’ designated hitter.Until he couldn’t.Everyone can see the direction in which this is trending, so what is Ohtani still doing on the active roster?There’s a difference between involving a star player in decisions about his playing time and allowing him to destroy his body, and the Dodgers are dangerously close to crossing that line.Manager Dave Roberts defended the organization by mentioning that Ohtani wanted to play on Friday in the series finale against the Seattle Mariners.“To that point,” Roberts said, “he’s not playing tonight.”Great, so the Dodgers can draw a line in the sand.Now, draw another.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

Please provide a valid email.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story Don’t play him this weekend against the Boston Red Sox.Or in the following series in Chicago against the Cubs.As I wrote earlier this week, place him on the injured list and shut him down for 10 days.But it doesn’t sound as if that will happen, as Roberts said he was “very confident” Ohtani would be back in the lineup on Friday.This feels reckless.

This feels negligent.I’m all for listening to players, especially superstars directly responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising revenue, and Roberts said that’s what the Dodgers were doing.Roberts pointed to how they gave Freddie Freeman a chance to play through ankle problems in recent years.“Teams do that with players,” he said.

“They’re all treated fairly but differently, right? That’s part of it.”Respecting a superstar enough to give him a say in major decisions is smart – up to a certain point. But this has moved beyond that point, and the way in which the Dodgers have dealt...