Shohei Ohtani Open to Playing New Position for Dodgers in Playoffs

Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani may be adding another job description to his resume this October.

Speaking to reporters after the Dodgers' 9-6 loss to the Phillies Tuesday, Ohtani said the club has had conversations about potentially deploying him as a relief pitcher in the postseason. And he's open to playing the outfield.

"I’ve had different conversations with different people, and of course that’s come up," Ohtani told Japanese reporters, according to MLB.com.

Utilizing Ohtani as a reliever makes sense. He has not yet pitched longer than five innings in a start, as the Dodgers have managed his workload in his first season on the mound since undergoing elbow surgery in September 2023. He's already equipped to handle a lighter innings load. Plus, Ohtani's electric swing-and-miss stuff would be a boon to the Dodgers' leaky bullpen. However, using Ohtani as a reliever would result in the Dodgers encountering an obstacle in the MLB rulebook.

The Ohtani rule, which was first implemented in 2022 with the two-way star in mind, states that if the starting pitcher is also in the lineup as the designated hitter, then that player can remain as the DH even if he is removed as a pitcher. Under the previous rules, if the starting pitcher was also in the lineup, the DH spot was forfeited and his spot in the batting order was taken up by the relief pitcher when he left the game. So essentially, if Ohtani started a playoff game as the DH, then entered in relief, the Dodgers would lose the DH spot after his pitching appearance concluded.

One possible way around this? Having Ohtani play the outfield, as he mentioned to reporters. Ohtani once starred for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball League as an outfielder, recording 90 putouts, seven assists and just one error in 62 career games in the outfield. However, he has appeared in the outfield in just 8 1/3 career innings in the majors, and hasn't done so since the 2021 season with the Angels.

He also has yet to appear as a reliever during his MLB career.

"He’s a great teammate," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "He wants to help us win a championship. So, I’m all about it. I don’t know if it’s going to happen," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani potentially playing in the outfield. "He hasn’t played the outfield. But I appreciate the fact that he’s open to whatever we need. So, I don’t know how that looks though. He hasn’t taken a fly ball all year."

It will be interesting to see if this is a path the Dodgers go down with the three-time MVP come October.