Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know, brought to you by David Adler. Today we ask: Would the Dodgers REALLY bench Shohei Ohtani?

Imagine if, just a couple of months ago, you were visited by a time traveler from the baseball future. And that time traveler had one very important message for you: In the playoffs, the Dodgers will be thinking about benching Shohei Ohtani. 

You wouldn't have believed them, no matter how many bells and whistles their time machine had. That's just too crazy. 

And yet … here we are. 

We're in the middle of the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers are down two games to none to the Brewers. And their superstar player looks like -- well, he looks like the Monstars stole his baseball powers.

Ohtani has not hit a home run since Aug. 18. Over his last 110 plate appearances, he has one lonely RBI. His ongoing knee and biceps issues seem like they're taking their toll. He looks like a shell of his MVP self.

And so, with their three-peat on the line, the Dodgers are reportedly considering doing the unthinkable: Taking Ohtani out of the lineup. 

• NLCS Game 3: Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/7 CT/5 PT on FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One

Ohtani just isn't taking Ohtani-like swings right now. He's 3-for-20 in the playoffs with seven strikeouts and no extra-base hits. He's whiffing on over 40% of his swings. And he's just not catching up to pitches. This October, Ohtani is swinging late more often than in any previous month of his Dodgers tenure, according to Statcast's swing timing metrics. 

There is a real possibility that he might not be L.A.'s best option right now, especially with top prospect Josue De Paula waiting for an opportunity to crack the starting lineup. And the Dodgers' offense needs to figure things out -- fast -- if they're going to turn this series around. 

But on the other hand … How can you bench Shohei Ohtani?? He's Shohei Ohtani! He's a four-time MVP! He just led you to back-to-back World Series! What if he figures it out all of a sudden? Would you not rather live or die with the best player in the world in your lineup? 

It's a real dilemma. We'll see what the Dodgers do for Game 3 of the NLCS tomorrow. 

And we don't envy them. This has to be a crazy hard decision. And if they make the wrong choice, they could be out of the playoffs. To (play) Shohei, or not to (play) Shohei …

Game 2 of the ALCS starts in a few hours. Here's what you need to know for the game, including the key storylines to follow. 

Guardians at Rays (Guardians lead series 1-0)

8 p.m. ET -- TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max

• Game 2 FAQ

The series so far: 

The Guardians went into The Trop and stunned the AL's top seed with a late rally in last night's series opener -- thanks to home runs by breakout rookie Chase DeLauter and Patrick Bailey off Rays ace Drew Rasmussen and some more havoc created by José Ramírez.

Today's pitching matchup: Parker Messick (Guardians) vs. Freddy Peralta (Rays) 

Starting lineups:

Guardians

1. Steven Kwan, LF
2. José Ramírez, 3B
3. Chase DeLauter, DH
4. Jo Adell, RF
5. Nathaniel Lowe, 1B
6. Travis Bazzana, 2B
7. Petey Halpin, CF
8. Austin Hedges, C
9. Brayan Rocchio, SS

Rays 

1. Yandy Díaz, DH
2. Jonathan Aranda, 1B
3. Junior Caminero, 3B
4. Victor Mesa Jr., RF
5. Jonny DeLuca, CF
6. Chandler Simpson, LF
7. Ben Williamson, 2B
8. Liam Hicks, C
9. Taylor Walls, SS

Key storylines:

1) Can the Rays collect themselves?

The Rays were coming off a sweep of the Yankees in the ALDS and led Game 1 until the seventh inning. This Tampa Bay team is exciting to watch, but also young and without a ton of postseason experience. Now the Rays have to show they can come back in a series. 

2) Is Peralta fully fixed? 

Peralta had a 4.99 ERA this season in 22 starts before the Rays traded for him. He has a 3.15 ERA in 11 starts since, including a solid effort in Game 2 of the ALDS against New York. A resurgent Peralta is certainly capable of pitching the Rays back into this series.

Abner Uribe, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith are deadlocked in a reliever standoff (pitchoff?).

The Brewers and Guardians have each played six postseason games so far in 2026. And those three relievers -- Uribe for Milwaukee, Gaddis and Smith for Cleveland -- have pitched in every single one. 

That got us thinking: Which relievers have pitched in the most consecutive games to start a postseason? Luckily, the Elias Sports Bureau is on the case. 

The record is eight straight appearances, done by these five resilient relievers: 

• Clay Holmes (2024 Yankees)
• Tyler Matzek (2021 Braves)
• Wade Davis (2014 Royals)
• Greg Holland (2014 Royals)
• Jesse Orosco (1996 Orioles)

We also asked Elias which relievers have pitched in the highest percentage of their team's games over a single playoff run. You can see that answer here.

So who will blink first between Uribe, Gaddis and Smith? Well, we know Uribe doesn't want to. He told our Brewers beat reporter Adam McCalvy that he wants to pitch in every single game the Brewers play this postseason. Best of luck, Abner. Our arm's tired just writing about it.

The Mariners just might snatch their next manager from a division rival.

Seattle is considering Astros manager Joe Espada for its own managerial vacancy -- and a source told MLB.com that Espada will meet with the Mariners about the gig. 

Espada took over for Dusty Baker in Houston when Baker retired following the 2023 season. In his three seasons as manager, Espada has led the Astros to a 256-229 record and two AL West titles in 2024 and '26.

Espada's contract with the Astros expires at the end of the month, and per a source, Houston has already granted permission to Seattle to speak with Espada. 

The Mariners are in search of a new manager after relieving Dan Wilson of his duties at the end of the season.

See all the latest MLB manager rumors here >>

© 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (geoffgould.gr8iphone@blogger.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com.

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe  or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.