This story was excerpted from Sonja Chen's Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Shohei Ohtani has two-way talent unlike any other in baseball. That, in turn, gives the Dodgers a challenge unlike any other: using him the right way.
It's a problem that any team would like to have. There are times when he's the best pitcher in the Dodgers' rotation, and others when he's the best hitter in their lineup. The four-time unanimous MVP has redefined what is possible in baseball, but the human body does have its limits.
Accordingly, the Dodgers are being mindful of Ohtani's workload in his first full season as a two-way player since 2023. Early on, that has meant that he has not hit in two of his five pitching starts.
"Obviously, having him do both duties, theory, practice, it's great," Dodgers manager Dave 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."
There is no real blueprint beyond his own experience when it comes to managing a two-way player like Ohtani. The Dodgers use his insight to guide the path to their biggest individual and shared goals. Ohtani wants to make every start on the mound, and he and the team want to three-peat.
To reach those goals, the Dodgers need Ohtani to stay healthy and effective as a hitter and a pitcher for the duration of the year. It's been a while since he's done that, and because he never made the postseason with the Angels, this could potentially be his longest two-way season in the Majors.
"Obviously, '24 he didn't pitch, '25 he didn't pitch in the beginning of the year, and this year, he has expectations of going wire to wire and hopefully through what is a very long October," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "So for us, it's about observing and communicating with him and trying to figure out when it makes sense."
The Dodgers are not planning on separating Ohtani's hitting and pitching workloads entirely. Ohtani prefers to hit when he's pitching, but he also understands the big picture.
"I’m always going to respect the decision regardless, whether I’m pitching or doing both," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "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 on what’s good for the team."
Last year, it was never much of a question whether Ohtani would hit and pitch in the same game. He returned to the mound after a second major surgery on his right elbow in June, building up an inning at a time, meaning he was able to ease into his pitching workload.
This year, Ohtani has pitched six innings in all five of his starts. His hitting and pitching workloads have been more equal, which is why occasionally leaving him out of the lineup could help him toward his goal of not missing a start.
"I think he's just smart enough to know that last year is different than this year, even given that ... he's two years removed [from surgery], which is a good thing," Roberts said. "But the other part of it is that the workload has started off a lot higher, and then what's sustainable? I think that his goal is to make every start, and so with that, there has to be some compromise and some openness to read and react."
In the short term, the Dodgers can afford to be without Ohtani in their starting lineup every now and then. Down the stretch and in the postseason, it's hard to imagine that they would prioritize workload management over being at full strength.
In the long term, perhaps not always using Ohtani to his full two-way capabilities can help him hit and pitch deeper into his career.
"He has designs of doing this for seven years after this, and I wouldn't bet against it," Friedman said. "But really, we're focused on 2026 and doing everything we can to put ourselves in the best position to secure a bye and then give us the best chance to win a World Series."
It's early enough in the season that Ohtani doesn't really have a sense of whether this occasional arrangement will help him stay fresh throughout the year. He takes pride in fulfilling his two-way duties, but he's ultimately willing to do what the team thinks is best.
"We’re only going to find out in the totality if it’s a plus or a minus," Ohtani said. "I think for players who want to do two-way and want to DH, they should get the option to do DH. But at the same time it’s hard to tell now. We’ll see how it goes at the end of the season."