The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off a 5-0 win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night and Blake Snell dominating for seven innings and striking out 12 batters may not be the biggest story. Before the Dodgers played the Phillies, there were reports swirling of superstar Shohei Ohtani potentially playing the outfield in the playoffs and potentially pitching out of the bullpen.
During the 2025 MLB season, he has been primarily the designated hitter and a starting pitcher. Ohtani has thrived as a designated hitter, and he has performed well as a starter. With the Dodgers bullpen being a major problem, Ohtani pitching out of the bullpen is not out of the question. What are the odds of it actually happening during the 2025 MLB postseason though?
Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts Mentions Shohei Ohtani Pitching Out of Bullpen Could Happen
Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic updated a story on Thursday morning about the Dodgers plans to potentially have Shohei play in the outfield and potentially pitch out of the bullpen in the playoffs. Ohtani playing in the outfield and pitching out of the bullpen in the playoffs doesn't seem as simple as it sounds. Ardaya said in his latest column,
"Anything is possible when it comes to Ohtani, but one thing he brought up to Japanese reporters on Tuesday night seems less possible than others: the idea of Ohtani getting acclimated to the outfield to give the team more options with how they use him as a pitcher this October.
“I don’t know if it’s a pipe dream, but it’s very commendable from Shohei,” Roberts said of Ohtani mentioning the idea.
The logic would be to give the Dodgers a workaround to the Ohtani rule, which dictates that Ohtani can remain in the game as a designated hitter after he’s done pitching — only if he’s the starting pitcher. This way, if Ohtani enters a game as a reliever, he could remain in the game to hit after he’s done and man the outfield.
It’s more complicated than that.
“There’s a lot of moving parts, too,” Roberts said."
There are a lot of moving parts with Ohtani potentially playing in the outfield and pitching out of the bullpen in the playoffs. Roberts knows that he is going to need his best hitter in the lineup at all times. He can't potentially risk having him pulled from the lineup at any point during the game.
In 149 games with the Dodgers this season, he has a .282 batting average with 51 home runs and 95 RBIs, along with 19 stolen bases and six caught stolen bases. His on-base percentage is .394.
In 41.0 innings pitched this season, Ohtani has a 1-1 record and has given up 35 hits and 15 runs. Ohtani has only walked nine batters and has struck out 54 batters. There is no doubt that he would be a major help for this team in the bullpen in the playoffs. With that being said, Roberts should not play him in the outfield or let him pitch out of the bullpen. The Dodgers are better off letting him be a designated hitter and a starting pitcher.
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LA superstar Shohei Ohtani ready to make 2021-style return in bold new playoff role with Dodgers | Sporting News