Perhaps on the verge of winning a third straight MVP award, Shohei Ohtani has been plenty valuable to the Los Angeles Dodgers as a designated hitter and starting pitcher.
Still, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday the organization has thought about whether the two-way star might be more valuable helping a tired bullpen rather than starting games on the mound.
“I know that we are going to be talking about it,” Roberts said. “The ‘pen is the complete opposite (of starting), right? You potentially could be taking on risk, and we’ve come this far, certainly with the kid gloves and managing.”
Meanwhile, Ohtani has stated his willingness to play the outfield in order to stay in the lineup after being removed as a reliever.
“I’ve had conversations with various people, and the idea of me pitching in relief has come up,” Ohtani said earlier this week while addressing the Japanese media. “As a player, I want to be prepared to handle whatever role is needed. If I do end up pitching out of the bullpen, I think that could also mean I’d need to play in the outfield afterward, depending on the situation. So I want to be ready for anything, no matter what comes my way.”
What’s at play here is Major League Baseball’s “two-way rule,” which was adopted in 2019. It allows Ohtani to stay in the game as the DH if he starts on the mound and is replaced. But if he were to start a game at DH then pitch in relief, the Dodgers would lose the DH once Ohtani as removed as the pitcher. Ohtani would have to play in the field to stay in the game. He did play did seven games in the outfield (six in right field, one in left field) in 2021 with the Los Angeles Angels.
On Tuesday night, Ohtani had a no-hitter through five innings when Roberts removed him after 68 pitches, later adding the decision had been made before the game to limit him to five innings.
The cautious manner in which the team has approached Ohtani’s mound usage this season underlines his importance to the team and the fact that he has two major repairs of his ulnar collateral ligament already.
Ohtani, though, has not worked in the outfield at all this season.
Roberts said Ohtani playing the outfield is not on the team’s radar but appreciates Ohtani’s willingness to consider all possibilities,
“There’s a lot of variables,” Roberts said, “but to know that he can potentially run out there, it’s great. Maybe just in theory. But, again, I love him for even throwing that out there.”
The Dodgers are loaded with effective starters in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan, but their bullpen ERA (4.30) ranks 10th in the National League, perhaps opening up the possibility for Ohtani’s playoff transition.
Ohtani has pitched just 41 innings in 13 starts this season, going 1-1 with a 3.29 ERA. He has topped out at five innings, which he has reached just twice.
He ranks third in the majors with 51 home runs after going deep in the eighth inning of the Dodgers’ 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
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