Shohei Ohtani is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ leadoff hitter, but could that be changing on days when he pitches? Manager Dave Roberts hasn’t ruled it out.
For games Ohtani takes the mound, his primary focus is on pitching, and the offense becomes secondary. Hitting and pitching at Ohtani’s level also takes a significant physical and mental toll.
Because of that, Roberts has thought about moving Ohtani out of the leadoff spot when he pitches to help reduce some of that burden.
“But I think right now, we’re going to stay the course with that. I’m certainly watching with a close eye and seeing how it looks, but right now, yes,” Roberts recently said.
If Roberts does end up making the change, it won’t happen anytime soon.
“I’m more of a slow mover, as you probably know,” Roberts said. “So I would probably wait a little bit and see how it takes. I don’t like to just flip-flop back and forth. To that question, I’ll give it a handful of starts and see where we’re at.”
Roberts has an ongoing dialogue with Ohtani about what the two-way star needs to be ready and feel healthy for a season, so it isn’t a decision the skipper makes on his own. But it’s also his job to protect players from hurting themselves, and going to hit after throwing in the first inning adds on a whole new level of challenge.
“I’m going to be paying attention to those,” Roberts said. “It’s hard, because I do think that first at-bat is a tough one, certainly, when you’re at home. You go from the mound to the on-deck circle to the batter’s box, it’s hard. It’s a quick transition.
“But then to kind of figure out how do you restructure the lineup for that one particular day to appease that one at-bat, that’s a bigger question. But yeah, I do think through it. When you sort of talk about that, ‘He doesn’t perform when he’s pitching,’ then he goes out there and hits three homers in a game. He’s special, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on him.”
Shohei Ohtani re-adjusting to being two-way player
After missing the entire 2024 season as a pitcher and being heavily limited in 2025, Ohtani has to adjust back into being a full-time two-way player. His previous experience has helped him in that regard, but the Dodgers still don’t want to expect his MVP-caliber bat to show up every time he pitches.
“But it’s still a lot,” Roberts said. “The truth is, on his start days, his focus is pitching. And it should be. It needs to be. So then the other part is, how do you manage the kind of balance of workload, the focus on pitching, to then still really lock in on four or five at-bats.
“Not easy, obviously. No one else is doing it. He definitely has a handle on it as much as anyone can.”
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