The Los Angeles Dodgers still hold a slight edge over the San Diego Padres in the NL West as October draws near. With the postseason looming, the Dodgers may be exploring changes to their pitching rotation. One intriguing idea gaining traction is moving superstar Shohei Ohtani into a closer role.
“Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior seemed bullish on the idea during his interview on the Dan Patrick Show this week, saying he could ‘absolutely’ see a scenario in which Ohtani pitches out of the bullpen during the postseason – but it would have to be a scenario in which he would be recording the final outs of the game,” Dodgers Way’s Emma Lingan wrote.
However, there’s one significant complication: if Ohtani were to pitch in relief, it would likely remove his bat from the lineup — a major drawback.
“The Dodgers are toying with the idea of using Shohei Ohtani in relief during the postseason, but if they do, he would vacate his spot in the lineup when his turn came up to hit. If he’s a starter, he’s permitted to stay in the game as a DH after he’s done pitching,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote.
Given those limitations, the Dodgers may instead opt to move veteran Clayton Kershaw to the bullpen for the playoffs.
“I see the most likely four-man rotation for the National League Division Series being Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, in some order. That would mean Kershaw comes out of the bullpen,” MLB.com’s Sonja Chen wrote.
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Kershaw, who is nearing the end of his career, seems open to the idea. Retirement could be on the horizon, and he has already acknowledged that the future is uncertain.
“But I don’t know what is going to happen in the future. I really have no idea when it comes to the years beyond this one,” Kershaw said. “So I’m just trying to enjoy it, be part of a really good team this year. We still have a lot to accomplish. We still have October. It’s really hard to look at stuff individually when you’re trying to accomplish something as a team.”
Kershaw will do whatever it takes to help the Dodgers win another World Series. Even in a bullpen role, the future Hall of Famer could provide valuable stability to a relief corps that has been inconsistent all season. With a loaded rotation and a flexible plan, the Dodgers remain well-positioned to make another deep playoff run.
