The Los Angeles Dodgers are gearing up for their second consecutive World Series Championship run, and superstar Shohei Ohtani is expected to play a major role this postseason. Over the weekend, he added another impressive milestone by setting a new home run record at Dodger Stadium.
“Shohei Ohtani just broke his own record by hitting his 29th home run at Dodger Stadium this season. The previous record was the 28 homers he hit in his first year with LA. Shohei Ohtani is putting the finishing touches on another unanimous MVP,” DodgersNation’s Doug McKain wrote.
In addition to his offensive dominance, Ohtani could also see time in the bullpen this October — a scenario that Dodgers GM Dave Roberts and his staff have been openly considering.
“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.”
This potential loophole — using Ohtani out of the bullpen or in right field — has caused some frustration among other playoff-bound teams.
“Teams are upset that the Dodgers will have one more pitcher than everyone else on their roster since there’s a special exemption for Shohei Ohtani as a two-way player,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote. “If Ohtani is a starting pitcher, he can remain in the game as a DH once he’s replaced on the mound.”
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
This is the luxury of having a once-in-a-generation player who can do it all. Ohtani is among the best in the game and has shown he’s capable of excelling in whatever role he’s asked to fill.
For the Dodgers, this shouldn’t pose any issues — nothing about Ohtani’s usage violates league rules. The frustration from other teams simply stems from the fact that they don’t have a two-way weapon of their own. Regardless, Ohtani’s postseason role will be one of the most fascinating storylines to follow this October.
