Shohei Ohtani's Paternity Leave Has Begun

Shohei Ohtani has had a solid 2025 thus far, with six home runs over the course of 20 games. But his season will be briefly paused, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Friday night — though it’s for the best possible reason. Ohtani, the Dodgers shared, is going on paternity leave.

The Los Angeles Times‘ Jack Harris reported that Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka are expecting their first child this weekend. As Harris reports, Ohtani has the option to take up to three days off; Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Times that Ohtani could return to the team earlier than that. For now, Ohtani’s place on the roster has been filled by Eddie Rosario, who was the Dodgers’ designated hitter in Friday’s 3-0 win over the Texas Rangers.

It was a Rangers player who first utilized Major League Baseball’s paternity leave policy — pitcher Colby Lewis, who did so during the 2011 season. The league policy helped to formalize something that had previously left both teams and players in an awkward position.

“Teams were basically granting it anyway, but they ended up playing short, and that really wasn’t the goal,” Major League Baseball’s Peter Woodfork told the New York Times‘ Tyler Kepner in 2011.

Is Shohei Ohtani the New Bobby Bonilla?

Per ESPN, a “majority” of Ohtani’s $700-million contract is deferred

For now, Rosario — who the Dodgers signed to a minor league contract earlier this year — will fill in for Ohtani. Until earlier this week, Rosario had played for the Oklahoma City Comets, the Dodgers’ AAA affiliate. Rosario recently drew attention for hitting a pair of home runs in a Comets game against the Round Rock Express last week.