Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is once again a finalist for the National League’s highest honor. On Monday, Ohtani was named one of three finalists for the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
Ohtani joins Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang and presumptive MVP frontrunner Pete Crow-Armstrong as the three finalists for the award.
The award winners will be announced during the week of Nov. 9, beginning with the Rookie of the Year awards, according to MLB.com.
Ohtani an MVP finalist despite injury-shortened season
Though he struggled mightily in the playoffs, Ohtani had a brilliant, albeit injury-shortened, regular season. Returning to the mound as a full-time starting pitcher, Ohtani showed off the elite stuff that made him the most tantalizing international prospect of his generation.
As a pitcher, he went 8-2 in 14 starts, finishing with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts.
At the plate, Ohtani continued to show the raw power and elite discipline that have made him a four-time MVP, but he never reached the same level of dominance as in his two prior seasons in L.A.
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He finished the 2026 regular season batting .275 with 30 home runs, 81 RBI and an OPS of .889.
Several ticky-tack injuries ended his pitching campaign in July, and he was placed on the injured list toward the end of the 2026 regular season. That all but guaranteed he wouldn’t be walking away with his third straight NL MVP award as his opponents, particularly Crow-Armstrong, began to eclipse his production.
The Cubs’ center fielder was transcendent on both sides of the ball, finishing the 2026 regular season with 45 home runs, 41 stolen bases, a .943 OPS and a .280 batting average while offering Gold Glove defense in the outfield. He is widely considered the favorite to win MVP, which would be the first of his career.
Ohtani’s combined WAR as a hitter and pitcher was 6.6, good for fifth in Major League Baseball, according to FanGraphs. Crow-Armstrong, meanwhile, led all of baseball with a WAR of 10.6. Turang’s 5.9 WAR was ninth in baseball.
After the Dodgers were eliminated by Turang’s Brewers in the National League Championship Series, Ohtani will head into his longest offseason since joining the Dodgers. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team’s two-way star won’t need surgery for his various ailments and will instead take the time off to rest and get his body right.
The Dodgers enter somewhat uncharted territory this offseason with a lockout looming and questions about the financial health of the franchise under owner Mark Walter. The team’s age is beginning to show: At 32, Ohtani is the youngest of its MVP trio, which also includes Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
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Ohtani will need to return to his MVP form soon if he wants to hoist another Commissioner’s Trophy, which, at this point in his career, probably means a lot more to him than the trophy Crow-Armstrong will be receiving later this month.
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