LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani has proved to be a viable starting pitcher as the postseason approaches, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged Wednesday that the organization has considered whether he might be more valuable helping a weary bullpen — perhaps especially in a shorter series like the three-game wild-card round.
It remains far more likely that Ohtani will serve as one of the Dodgers’ starters in the playoffs, but Roberts said the possibility of Ohtani helping out of the bullpen is “something we’re all talking about.”
“I know that we are going to be talking about it,” Roberts said. “I think the one thing you can say, though, is that we use him once every seven days, eight days, nine days — [11] days in between his last start — so to think that now it’s feasible for a guy that’s just coming off what he’s done last year, or didn’t do last year, to then now put him in a role that’s very, very unique, because he’s a very methodical, disciplined, routine-driven person. The pen is the complete opposite, right? You potentially could be taking on risk, and we’ve come this far, certainly with the kid gloves and managing.”
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The Dodgers’ caution while managing Ohtani’s return to the mound in the wake of a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament was evident Tuesday, when Roberts removed him after five no-hit innings despite only 68 pitches. That decision was predetermined, Roberts said, a function of the team’s hesitancy to push Ohtani beyond the five-inning threshold this season.
Ohtani said he understood the decision but added that he wanted to “pitch as long as possible.” Later, while addressing the Japanese media, Ohtani expressed an openness to playing the outfield to remain in the lineup after exiting as a reliever, saying: “I’ve had conversations with various people, and the idea of me pitching in relief has come up. 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.”
Major League Baseball’s two-way rule, adopted in 2019, allows Ohtani to remain in the game as the designated hitter if he starts on the mound and is replaced. But if he were to start a game as the designated hitter then pitch in relief, the Dodgers would lose the DH once Ohtani stops pitching. Ohtani’s only path to remaining in the game in that situation would be to play the outfield — something he did seven times with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021.
Ohtani has not done any work in the outfield this season. The Dodgers are naturally hesitant to add more responsibilities to a player who is a catalyst atop their lineup, not to mention a legitimate stolen-base threat.
Asked if Ohtani in the outfield is on his radar, Roberts smiled and said, “No.”
“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 have long been open to the possibility of Ohtani closing out a critical game in October — the way he did to seal a championship for his native Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic — but the prospect of him helping as a reliever has ramped up as the bullpen has continued to struggle and the rotation has taken form.
Los Angeles has five other effective starters in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Emmet Sheehan, the latter of whom also has proved to be effective out of the bullpen. Some of their highest-leverage relievers — Blake Treinen, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates and Michael Kopech among them — have struggled to varying degrees.
If Ohtani were to pitch in relief, it would be in the ninth inning. But juggling warming up in the bullpen if his turn to bat is coming up, or if he is required to run the bases, could prove difficult. And the Dodgers would be at risk of either losing him as a hitter or forcing him to play the outfield if the game extended to extra innings.
“I don’t know if it’s a pipe dream,” Roberts said of Ohtani playing the outfield, “but it’s very commendable from Shohei.”
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