Dave Roberts said on October 11, 2026, that he had not decided Shohei Ohtani's batting position for the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I haven't decided that one. I'm going to think through that one today,” Roberts said.
Roberts said Ohtani's immediate offensive objective was to reach base and take quality at-bats rather than focus only on power. “for tomorrow, it's just get on base, take good at bats,” Roberts stated. He added that opposing pitchers would continue to treat Ohtani as a threat: “they're just not going to give into him.” Roberts described production broadly, saying, “production is just doing anything positive.”
Roberts said managing the Dodgers' older roster during the regular season requires giving players rest, getting them off their feet during games and using younger players to preserve freshness. He acknowledged, “you do have the oldest roster in baseball,” and joked that people had been referring to the Dodgers as “dinosaurs.” Roberts also described Tyler Glasnow as approachable and engaging on his start days while retaining pitching intensity: “TK is certainly much more approachable, you know, engaging.”
Roberts said the Dodgers' experience becomes an advantage in the postseason because the schedule includes many off days. “advantage goes to us in the sense of the experience,” he explained. He also said the Brewers had the best record in baseball, according to his assessment, and identified Tio as “a very underrated player.” Roberts added that Williams “swing the bat really well” and that Bowers “is had a huge year.”
Against the Milwaukee Brewers, Roberts said the Dodgers should establish an early lead and prevent Milwaukee's hitters from playing from ahead as they had previously. “if we can throw up a couple zeros, catch a lead, then, you know, we can sort of build on that,” he noted. He said both bullpens were talented and that reaching the opposing bullpen first would provide an advantage: “getting into whoseever bullpen certainly has an advantage.”