![\"Dave](\"https:\/\/e00-marca.uecdn.es\/assets\/multimedia\/imagenes\/2025\/08\/13\/17551069729972.jpg\")
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have seen some stellar play from their starting rotaion lately, but the bullpen hasn\u2019t seen the same success.<\/p>\n
This has begged the question of using three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani in relief this October, but according to manager Dave Roberts, the plan is still looking like Ohtani remaining in his role as a starter.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYeah, we do,\u201d Roberts said when asked about the plan. \u201cCould it change down the road in the postseason? Possibly. But right now we see him as a starter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just because that is the current plan, Roberts didn\u2019t want to box Ohtani into the rotation for the remainder of the postseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it has to,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI think ideally, how we run things, we like to give a run of show for certain things, roles, before you do it in the postseason. But he has done it before in the (World Baseball) Classic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the postseason, there\u2019s a lot of things that happen that are unforeseen.\u201d<\/p>\n
As unprecedented as this move would be, there is also a certain level of risk attached to it.<\/p>\n
If Ohtani starts the game, as he has been across his last 12 appearances on the bump, he can still freely bat even after he is taken out of the game. If Ohtani starts the game as a hitter and later enters in relief, he wouldn\u2019t be able to stay as a batter after being replaced on the mound.<\/p>\n
With the kind of production Ohtani has been displaying lately, the Dodgers would have to ensure that Ohtani\u2019s spot in the order wouldn\u2019t come up again if this were the case.<\/p>\n
Since September 1, Ohtani is batting .333 with an OPS of 1.163. He already has four home runs and eight RBIs in that span and even has a stolen base.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Ohtani isn\u2019t seeing the same success on the mound. In his last three starts, he has allowed six earned runs across those 12.2 innings of work. He does have 17 strikeouts to just three walks in that time, but with Ohtani being a major part of the Dodgers\u2019 postseason pitching plans, the hope is that things will trend more in the direction of where his bat is going.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts speaks on how his team plans to use superstar Shohei Ohtani going into October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":93699,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n