Should the Los Angeles Dodgers adjust plans with Shohei Ohtani? | MLB on FOX

show is now building an impressive legacy in LA we know that he continues to amaze fans and torment opponents but behind the scenes his teammates tell us of his secret identity [Music] sh is really funny he’s always trying to uh make jokes to to to have good time with with his teammates
really just how funny he is man with us i mean he’s laughing joking he’ll crack a little joke or hinders meetings and you kind of don’t expect it i mean you know he’s he’s a really funny guy
well I think the world is starting to understand that he’s a practical joker they put my car
show Gabby show’s behind this
yes
are you freaking kidding me okay now tie he has become more free and easy more jovial and I think he’s starting to become the person who he really intrinsically is [Music] got that sun shine on my Sunday best thing I really like the most that I’m very impressed is how Shi handles all the things going on around him and he’s so consistent every day with uh being the same person and Otani torches one tosses the bat and watches it fly
every single night he does something that I’ve never seen before even Even when he gets out he’s hitting and out 120 mph and you’re kind of like did I just did I just see that right it’s truly kind of a blessing to be his teammate he is actually changing the game of baseball he never ceases to amaze it’s It’s incredible it really is it’s pretty amazing right uh show Otani just to give you an idea of how amazingly talented is if you already didn’t know it his numbers when he is a pitcher really isn’t a drop off which is kind of nuts right i mean it just gives you a feel for someone says “Well he shouldn’t pitch it affects his hitting.” Well it doesn’t that’s kind of the idea but now though EK I’m curious the Dodgers and how they deal with him going forward right obviously they’re ramping him up slowly here but there are other factors even though we showed you his production is still good there are other things to take into consideration now the rest of the year when he pitches well it’s obviously the offense and how does that impact it the starting so far and then hitting right when he comes off the mound i mean it’s only a small sample size it’s been four at bats he struck out four times he didn’t do this in Anaheim he It wasn’t I mean he did it a handful of times i think there were probably seven or 11 at bats in his career you know he wasn’t a lead off hitter so that’s something that’s going to be
it’s going to be talked about right i don’t know that it’s going to be addressed the only way anything gets addressed is if Show says “I’m not so sure I want to do this.” But it will absolutely be talked about it look Shay can do what he wants to do right because when you are that good and look at he had his third start the other day and I was talking about him coming back and it’s like climbing a ladder you can’t expect him to go all the way to the top in two or three starts
that third start the other day when he threw a 100 my man went up about six steps right so I look at he can do whatever he wants to do it’s for us to talk about but you know the reality is four strikeouts and four at bats
you know there’s a couple components first of all that third start seeing him touch triple digits and really having the secondary stuff to pair it’s like uhoh it might be scary hours if they’re able to build him up the other component is him leading off especially at home he might have a long inning one time he might throw 25 to 30 pitches and all of a sudden you don’t have a breath maybe they might discuss moving him down in the lineup maybe the second or third just to be able to get some water get under you listen I’m not comparing myself to show Elani at all but I’m a National League guy so I know how it is to hit come off the field and then lead off an inning or vice versa i had that one mistake where I ran a triple and all of a sudden I couldn’t even get the sign because I was so gassed on the mound now show is a unicorn he’s outstanding he’s been doing it he wants to be that two-way guy because in the end it’s legacy for him he wants to be remembered as the best baseball player of all time and he continues to trend that way as long as he stayed healthy now the problem is you cannot lose him there’s no such thing as a third Tommy John and that’s the scary part about so you’re seeing his velocity uptick right now you’re excited about that but Dave Roberts loses him not only on the mound and in the lineup i don’t believe they’re the best team in the National League it’s going to be very difficult for them to repeat again if they lose him so they’re going to slow play him very much i
I guess I’d say this too has there been anything that he’s been asked to do that he can’t do he can do it all
right that’s that’s a scary thing is like I
we can sit here and say “Well this might not work.”
He’s not running as much and so I think he’s starting to learn how to conserve his energy as well you know what I mean because this that’s tough man to be able I don’t care how athletic how in shape you are i know he lives and bre breathes and sleeps baseball but we have to have a perspective for him even though his bar is very high
running game has been impacted jeez [Music]

Kevin Burkhardt, Dontrelle Willis and the “MLB on FOX” crew debate whether the Los Angeles Dodgers should adjust plans with Shohei Ohtani.

#FOXSports #ShoheiOhtani #MLB

SUBSCRIBE to get the latest FOX Sports content: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeFOXSPORTS

About FOX Sports:
With exclusive highlights, original programming, and behind the scenes footage, FOX Sports’ YouTube channel provides the sports content that fans are hungry for. FOX Sports coverage includes: College Basketball, College Football, MLB, NASCAR, NFL, Soccer, and the FIFA World Cup. FS1 original programs include: The Facility, The Herd, Speak, First Things First and more.

Should the Los Angeles Dodgers adjust plans with Shohei Ohtani? | MLB on FOX
www.youtube.com/@foxsports

23 comments

  5. Stop it with the 50/50 or 60/60 thing, who cares about stealing bases when you have the best hitter and home run champion in history!!!! And also a great pitcher. Move him to bat third and avoid any unnecessary base running for the love of Christ.

  9. id have em bat third when he pitches. but because hes only pitching one or two innings id keep him at lead off. the moment he starts going longer into games i think you have to change up when he bats.

  11. For me the only adjustment for Shohei is taking him out of being #1 in the batting lineup and putting him either 3rd or 4th because a lot of the homers I keep seeing is empty bases.. Now with him at 3 or 4th position there can be a good chance there will be at least 1-2 players on in scoring position and Shohei will still hit his homer but now he will get 1-2 more RBI's which is a good thing.

  16. 2024 has proven that Ohtani's offense alone is so valuable, why sacrifice his MVP offense just to see him pitch a little. But if he must pitch, why not pitch him every 6 games and on days he pitches, he doesn't hit unless as a pinch hitter after he is done on the mound.

  17. Either way Ohtani will be rushing back and forth from the mound on days he pitches. He did it for three years with the Angels. The real difference is the Angels don't make the playoffs whereas the Dodgers are playoff bound so Ohtani pitching is a real risk. The risk vs. reward just isn't worth it. The risk is Ohtani's MVP offense suffering, potential season ending injury and fatigue, you need his bat in the playoffs. The reward, almost none tbh, how many starts is he going to get? With so little innings, he'd be better off as a closer. He could be an Eric Gagne type who won a Cy Young with 50+ saves.

  21. If Ohtani can get this 4th MVP, he will be the only clean player to ever get 4. It will be 4 in 5 years too. That's only ever been done by Barry Bonds. He is still on pace for over 55 HR this season and 100+ RBI. I think that alone would put him in the conversation for MVP, but the pitching is gonna guarantee it as long as he's not trash at it. He is probably gonna finish the year with between 70 and 90 IP and an ERA of 2.5 to 3.50. That's gonna be enough pitching WAR to secure him the MVP.

Leave a Reply