Why Two-Way Star Shohei Ohtani Will Sometimes Be a One-Way Pitcher on His Start Days

Before this season, it had been nearly five years since Shohei Ohtani last pitched but did not hit in a game. It has now happened twice in Ohtani’s last three starts on the mound, including in Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss to the Marlins, as the Dodgers attempt to keep their two-way sensation as healthy as possible while handling a full pitching workload for the first time since 2023. How does the four-time MVP feel about occasionally serving only as a pitcher on his start days? “I’m always going to respect the decision, regardless whether I’m pitching or doing both,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I also understand the importance of getting to the end of the season with everybody healthy. So, talking with the training staff, talking with the team, I think it’s really important that the team makes the decision.” The Dodgers are trying to provide Ohtani rest wherever they can, especially early in the season. They’re utilizing a six-man rotation and have often pitched Ohtani on the day before an off day. Giving him the day off from hitting when he’s on the mound — “almost like a half day,” as manager Dave Roberts described it — is another strategy. Going forward, there is no set plan for how often the Dodgers will do that. Roberts described the choice as “read and react.” “Obviously having him do both duties, in theory, practice, it’s great,” Roberts said. “But how sustainable is it without kind of taking a little bit off his plate a little bit? That’s the question, and it’s not an exact science.” Through five starts, Ohtani leads all qualified MLB pitchers with a 0.60 ERA in a year in which many around him believe he wants to contend for a Cy Young Award. That quest will be difficult considering how closely the Dodgers will monitor and protect their superstar player while they seek a third straight World Series title, but Ohtani has gone six innings and allowed no more than one earned run in each start so far. In two of his five starts, Ohtani has gotten the night off from hitting. The first time, there was a health component to the Dodgers’ decision. Ohtani’s April 15 start against the Mets came two days after he took a fastball from David Peterson off the back of his throwing shoulder. Afterward, Ohtani was dealing with some soreness, so the Dodgers wanted him to channel all of his energy into pitching in his next outing. “I think that he understands that I’m making a decision that’s best for the player, for him, and for the team,” Roberts said. It was the first time since 2021 with the Angels — the “Ohtani Rule,” allowing two-way players to stay in the game as a DH after pitching, wasn’t created until 2022 — that Ohtani was not in the lineup on a day that he started on the mound. When Roberts informed Ohtani of the decision, Ohtani’s eyes widened, but he didn’t push back. Roberts explained to him the reasoning. “I was a little bit surprised,” Ohtani said, “but it made sense hearing what he had to say.” That night, Ohtani struck out 10 batters and allowed one run on two hits and two walks in six innings. Dalton Rushing filled in at designated hitter and launched a grand slam in an 8-2 win. “We have a really good DH hit today,” Ohtani said. “So, I’m very open to that.” Roberts was clear then that Ohtani would’ve been doing each of his normal duties had it not been for the hit by pitch. Ohtani resumed his typical two-way role the following week, throwing six shutout innings in San Francisco while going hitless at the plate. Understandably, Ohtani’s offensive production has wavered on days that he pitches. In the three games in which he has both hit and pitched this season, Ohtani is batting .100 with no extra-base hits. In his 25 other games entering Wednesday, he is hitting .295 with six homers and six doubles. Overall, Ohtani has an .898 OPS, a total that puts him in the top 25 of qualified hitters but well below his usual elite production after tallying an OPS over 1.000 in each of the last three seasons. He has started to heat up, though, recording seven hits — including three extra-base hits — in his three games before getting another offensive breather on Tuesday. “It is easier to maintain something good when things are going well,” Ohtani said. “But when things are not going well it’s not easy, in the sense that I have to make sure that I’m healthy and not overdoing it in terms of repetition. So while I’m working on certain things, it’s also a balancing act of making sure I’m not overdoing it physically and making sure that I’m healthy.” Rest, not performance, is still the primary reason for the Dodgers’ cautiousness on days that he’s pitching. After keeping Ohtani out of the DH role on his start day for the first time two weeks ago, Roberts left room open for the Dodgers to implement the strategy again. “It’s something I’m going to keep an eye on if it makes sense,” Roberts said. “It’s got to make sense to not have your best hitter in the lineup.” This week, Roberts and the Dodgers decided it made sense again. Ohtani wasn’t aching on Tuesday against the Marlins, but the Dodgers were playing a game for the 12th consecutive day and Ohtani was pitching on five days of rest for the first time this season. In addition, the next day was a day game in which Ohtani would be assuming his usual DH role. Roberts didn’t feel the need to go through the whole reasoning process for the decision with Ohtani again, believing that his star player understood the decision. “I’d like to think he would tell me if he didn’t agree with it, and then there’s a deeper conversation,” Roberts said. “But I think that he’s just very respectful of a decision that the manager of an organization makes.” Tuesday’s start was more of a grind than Ohtani’s previous four, but he still allowed just two runs (one earned) and struck out nine in six innings. He threw 104 pitches, his most as a Dodger. “I think his goal is to make every start,” Roberts said. “And so, with that, there has to be some compromise and some openness to kind of read and react. And so far, I think we’re doing a nice job, and he’s open to that.” Edwin Díaz ‘100% confident’ he can return to form in second half Just seven appearances into his three-year, $69 million deal with the Dodgers, Edwin Díaz had an ERA over 10.00. His velocity was fluctuating, and his arm felt “tired and tight.” The star closer was sent for imaging, which led to surgery last week to remove five loose bodies from his elbow. Díaz expects to return sometime in the second half and said he’s “100% confident” he can return to his usual form when he does, especially considering how good his arm was feeling just days after his procedure. “I can move my arm really good,” Díaz said Monday. “My range of motion is completely back to normal, so that’s something I like. Just get stronger and be ready for the second half.” Díaz’s average fastball velocity this year of 95.7 mph was down from 97.2 mph last year. Still, he looked mostly like himself through his first five appearances with the Dodgers, striking out eight batters and allowing just one run to that point. But he didn’t look right while surrendering three runs to the Rangers on April 10, and he missed the next eight days while reporting fatigue in his surgically-repaired right leg. He was feeling better leading into his appearance on April 19 in Colorado, when he failed to record an out against the four batters he faced. Díaz said his arm felt fine until that outing against the Rockies. He has known about the loose bodies in his elbow since 2012, but they hadn’t caused him any pain until recently. “I think my range of motion was a little bit shorter than normal,” Díaz said. “Now, after surgery, I’m getting close to what I was, what I am when I was good. So, I think that maybe that’s why the velo was a little bit inconsistent.” Díaz was brought in to help remedy a Dodgers bullpen that imploded last season. They’ll now need to rely on many of the same characters. Tanner Scott is expected to receive the majority of save opportunities with Díaz down and has performed much better in year two of his four-year, $72 million deal. Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia could also figure into the ninth-inning mix. “That sucks, you know, to miss the first half with a team,” Díaz said. “But that’s something I can’t control. Everyone here is supporting me. All of my teammates, they’re supporting me, they’re happy that I’m doing way better than before. They just can’t wait to see me on the mound in the second half. They say take your time, we need you in October, but I want to come back as soon as possible and help this team to win games.” Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.