LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani has mashed 100 mph fastballs for homers, stolen bases against some of the game’s best catchers and recently wrapped up one of the best regular seasons in Major League Baseball history.

Now the Japanese superstar and his Los Angeles Dodgers have to face something that’s arguably even more daunting.

A five-day break.

Since MLB’s most recent 12-team playoff format took effect in 2022, five of the eight top seeds have lost in the Division Series, unable to capitalize on the supposed reward of earning a bye through the Wild Card Series.

This year, the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have the top two seeds in the National League, while the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are in the same position in the American League. That’s given all of them five days to prepare for the best-of-five Division Series that begin Saturday.

Sure, a few days to heal bumps and bruises while other teams fight it out is nice. But there’s also a downside.

“It’s not a vacation,” Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott said following a workout earlier this week.

Five days is a relative eternity. And it hasn’t always been a good thing.

“It’s a trade-off,” said Chris Antonetti, Cleveland’s president of baseball operations. “The benefit is you get time off. The downside is you’re not in the major league environment.”