The Dodgers face an interesting strategic decision if Game 7 happens, and it all comes down to the Ohtani Rule.
If LA wants to maximize Shohei Ohtani’s impact in a winner-take-all game, they’re incentivized to start him on the mound despite the short rest.
Here’s why the rule changes everything.
The MLB rule from 2022 allows teams to keep their starting pitcher in the lineup as the DH after he’s removed from pitching. But there’s a catch – it only applies to starters, not relievers.
If Ohtani enters in relief and gets pulled from the mound, the Dodgers would have to move him to a fielding position to keep his bat in the game. That forfeits the DH spot entirely, meaning their next pitcher has to hit.
Not exactly ideal in Game 7.
So if Dave Roberts plans on using Ohtani’s arm at some point, starting him guarantees the superstar stays in the lineup as the DH for the entire game. Even if he only goes two or three innings, they keep that flexibility.
Sure, it’s short rest. But the Ohtani Rule basically rewards teams for starting their two-way players rather than bringing them out of the bullpen.
The way I see it, if you’re going to use Ohtani’s pitching in the biggest game of the year, you might as well structure it to get maximum value from both sides of his game.
That means handing him the ball from pitch one and seeing how long he can go. The rule makes that decision pretty straightforward.
