LOS ANGELES – Former major league general manager Jim Bowden has a Shohei Ohtani bullpen proposal for 2027: scheduled relief outings early, followed by a move into the Dodgers’ rotation in August.
Speaking on the D-Mac and Reiter show on 97.1 the Fan, Bowden proposed using Ohtani in scheduled relief appearances once or twice a week before reassessing his workload at the All-Star break. His goal would be to keep Ohtani productive at the plate and have his arm ready for October.
“I’d like to use him as a reliever once or twice a week to start the season, where I’m pitching one inning at a time, occasionally two innings at a time, only in situations where it’s preplanned,” Bowden said.
Bowden was outlining his own approach to managing Ohtani’s workload. The comments did not announce a Dodgers decision about his role next season.
Bowden’s Shohei Ohtani bullpen plan starts with scheduled innings
Bowden gave Blake Snell’s starts as an example of how the arrangement could work. If Snell pitched five or six innings, Ohtani could have a scheduled assignment behind him.
“You’ve got some starters like Blake Snell that’s only going five or six, so perhaps, let’s just say on his starts, he’s going to pitch the seventh and eighth inning when Snell starts, something like that,” Bowden said.
Those appearances would give Ohtani a defined pitching schedule while keeping his outings short. Bowden stressed that the work would be planned in advance.
At the All-Star break, Bowden would evaluate the standings and decide whether the Dodgers needed more pitching from Ohtani. If the team could afford to wait, he would delay the transition into the rotation until August.
“Otherwise, I start him up at the beginning of August. I get my 12 starts in, and then he’s ready to go in October with a fresh arm,” Bowden said.
Bowden envisioned 12 starts in that scenario, though he did not explain how he would fit that number into the late-season schedule or build Ohtani from relief innings into a starter’s workload.
Protecting Ohtani’s offense drives Bowden’s proposal
Bowden’s concern is how much the Dodgers ask Ohtani to carry over a full season. He wants the team to preserve the offensive production that makes Ohtani valuable every day while managing his pitching with the postseason in mind.
“I need the bat to dominate. I don’t need the pitching until October to win a World Series,” Bowden said.
He said he does not favor asking Ohtani to make 30 starts while also handling his hitting responsibilities. Ohtani’s interrupted 2026 pitching season made Bowden more cautious about putting him straight into the rotation next spring.
“I think what we saw this year gives me a pause for concern, and especially after this year, since he didn’t really pitch after July, I would not want to sit there and have him be in the rotation to start the year,” Bowden said. “I don’t think that makes sense.”
Ohtani has already said he intends to pitch again in 2027. Bowden’s proposal addresses how the Dodgers could structure that return, with shorter appearances early and starts reserved for the stretch run.
The rest of the rotation will also help determine how much flexibility the Dodgers have. The club faces a decision on a potential Tarik Skubal reunion, among its offseason pitching questions.
Bowden would leave room to change course in July. If the standings demanded more innings from Ohtani, he would use him more. Otherwise, he would hold back the starting assignments until August, with October as the target.
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