Dodgers News: Ohtani Could be an Option Out of the ‘Pen, Per Mark Prior, but it’s Complicated

DENVER, CO—After signing two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to a then record-breaking 10-year $700 million deal last offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers are just now reaping the benefits of his abilities both in the batter’s box and on the mound.

Last season, despite unanimously winning the 2024 National League Player of the Year Award, Ohtani was exclusively the Dodgers’ designated hitter as the righty recovered from revised Tommy John surgery in his elbow at the end of the 2023 regular season.

While Ohtani clawed his way back to a few bullpen sessions before October, the team opted for the two-way player to pause his progression as a pitcher and start the following season with a clean slate.

Fast-forward to now, and Ohtani has made several starts with the Dodgers, gradually increasing his workload with each outing, building up as a starter with the major league club rather than undergoing a minor league rehab assignment, as is typically done with a traditional player.

However, while the Dodgers and Ohtani have remained focused on him remaining a starting pitcher, the idea has been floated about whether he could come out of the bullpen in the postseason.

Before yesterday’s game, Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior was asked this exact question on the “Dan Patrick Show,” to which he replied, “Absolutely.”

While the team has had conversations about a possible bullpen role for Ohtani in October, much of that has involved trying to understand the rules governing a two-way player, Prior clarified this later in the day at Coors Field.

While Prior mentioned on the program that the idea of Ohtani pitching in relief “has been discussed,” he also noted that these discussions resumed in June as Ohtani was close to returning to a big-league mound.

Ohtani informed the organization that he preferred to develop as a pitcher in Major League games, so the team mostly had him start games as an opener while still keeping his batting in the lineup.

“Maybe it was me asking the question because I didn’t have a clear understanding of the moment,” Prior said. “But if we’re using him for one inning, let’s use him as a starter. We were trying to talk about how does that play as a reliever. When you read the rulebook, as clear as the rulebook can be at times, he has to be in the lineup as a starter/DH.”

Still, the door has remained open, primarily due to the overwhelming issue the backend of the Dodgers’ bullpen has been this season.

While Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates are expected to rejoin the team in San Diego this weekend, both have an ERA north of four, and Scott has a then-major league-worst seven blown saves.

“I think at the end of the day, if it gave us a chance to win a ballgame, whatever that added value, I think he would be all-in,” Prior said. “Within reason. Because I do think he cares about winning ballgames. He cares about helping his team win on both sides of the baseball. So I think if it was presented in that situation, maybe he would. … Again, I don’t know what that situation would be, but in a kind of playoff, must-win, maybe that would.”

Ohtani has only appeared out of the bullpen once since joining Major League Baseball during the 2018 offseason, and it wasn’t even for the Los Angeles Angels.

Ohtani most famously closed out the game in the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Samurai Japan, getting the final three outs over Team USA.

While the Dodgers’ rotation is currently six men deep and only needs four starters for most postseason series, it remains logical as to why fans and some within the organization have suggested the bullpen idea.

But for me, I see the Dodgers using Ohtani as a starter, perhaps for Game One or Two of any series, and if he does come in at any point from the bullpen, it’ll be to close out a series, not just a regular game.

Despite a clunker at Coors Field yesterday, Ohtani has posted impressive numbers in a limited sample size, including a 30.2 strikeout percentage, 2.05 FIP, and a 33.2 whiff percentage, while issuing only five walks in 27.1 innings.

The Dodgers don’t plan to push Ohtani past the five-inning mark for the remainder of the regular season, hoping to keep his arm and bat fresh for October.

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