The Los Angeles Dodgers have been playing around with the idea of superstar Shohei Ohtani pitching out of the bullpen during the postseason.
With the current rules in place, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expressed his frustration that surrounds Ohtani hitting and pitching out of relief.
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“I think they missed the mark with it,” Friedman said of the rule.
Ohtani has made 13 starts this season and is still able to bat, even after being pulled from the mound. This was also the case when the three-time MVP was a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
If he were to start a game as a hitter and later enter out of the bullpen, he would be barred from contiuing as a hitter when his time pitching in relief is up.
“I think the rule was put in place to try to encourage people to do it, to incentivize people,” Friedman said. “So yeah, I think they missed.”
When Friedman was asked if he’d liked to see the rule eventually changed to also include relief appearances, he said “that’s more of an offseason, future thing.”
“Obviously,” he added, “it’s not reasonable for us to ask for that in-season.”
With the current state of the bullpen and how close postseason baseball is from starting, it makes sense that there is more urgency. Friedman made sure to note that despite the rules in place, if the situation were allow it, Ohtani pitching in relief isn’t entirely out of the question.
“Walker Buehler was a starting pitcher for us last year, and finished out Game 5 of the World Series,” Friedman said. “So you never know how things are going to play out.”
A situation where Ohtani’s bat would either no longer be needed for the remainder of the game, or Ohtani takes the mound much later in the hypothetical contest, fans can certainly expect the notion of the co-leader in home runs for the National League to be a bullpen option for LA.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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