Andrew Friedman became the latest member of the Dodgers organization to defend an MLB rule that allows Shohei Ohtani to effectively be an extra pitcher on the team’s roster.
In an interview with AM 570 that aired Sunday morning, the club’s president of baseball operations acknowledged that Ohtani’s two-way status –– which prevents him from being counted as one of the 13 pitchers the Dodgers are allowed to carry on their roster –– is “certainly an advantage” for the team.
“But it should be an advantage,” Friedman argued. “What Shohei does and what he is capable of is so unique, it should be rewarded. It should be celebrated.”
Friedman’s comments came in the wake of recent discourse around the baseball industry over MLB’s 13-pitcher-maximum rule and how Ohtani’s two-way status effectively allows the Dodgers to carry an extra arm.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell has been the most vocal critic. Last week, he called Ohtani’s exception to the rule “bizarre.” On Friday, ahead of the opening game of this weekend’s Dodgers-Cubs series at Dodger Stadium, he doubled down by saying “it is a bad rule.”
“Look, this is not a Dodger thing, it’s not an Ohtani thing,” Counsell said. Yet, he later added, “There’s not another player like that, but one team gets different rules for that player.”
Friedman pushed back on that narrative in his radio interview, noting how “it felt very random and strange to me [that Counsell] felt the need to bring it up.”
When MLB instituted its rule that limits teams to having only 13 pitchers on their 26-man active rosters in 2022, Ohtani was still a member of the Angels. At that time, Friedman said, MLB officials surveyed executives from other clubs –– the Dodgers included –– to solicit feedback on the way Ohtani would factor into that roster restriction as a two-way player.
“I said, ‘Look, from a competitive standpoint, as the Dodgers, I don’t love it,’” Friedman recounted. “But wearing my industry hat, what’s best for Major League Baseball? It is to do everything we can for Shohei Ohtani to be in, and stay in, games. And obviously with the 13-pitcher rule, that’s a part of him being able to stay in the game when he pitches.”
Now, of course, the Dodgers are beneficiaries of the Ohtani carve-out, having signed the four-time MVP to a 10-year, $700 million free agent contract before the 2024 campaign.
This year, they are the only team in MLB capable of using a six-man starting rotation (including Ohtani) without having to sacrifice a full complement of eight relievers in the bullpen.
“Everyone knew the Shohei rules and had an equal opportunity to sign him two years ago,” Friedman said. “So not sure where the Cubs were in that process, or what Counsell’s thoughts were on it then. But that seemed like more of the relevant time to voice it than now.”
Granted, part of the reason for the renewed conversation about the rule is because Ohtani is back to being a full-time two-way player again this year.
He missed all of 2024 as a pitcher while recovering from a second career Tommy John surgery and was limited on the mound last year while completing his recovery process. But this season, he has made normal turns through the Dodgers’ rotation as a fully built-up starter, allowing the team’s other starters to get an extra day of rest between outings.
If Ohtani counted against the club’s 13-pitcher maximum, it could complicate the team’s ability to maximize his two-way talents.
“I was able to look at what is best for the industry, and Shohei playing, and playing more often, and staying in games is what is best for the fans and everything else,” Friedman said. “We don’t have nine relievers. We have eight relievers, just like everyone else. We have five starters, just like everyone else. It’s just when Shohei is able, and the rest makes sense, Shohei pitches also. It is not that we are carrying an extra reliever relative to others.”
While Ohtani has gotten off to a slow start at the plate this season, he has reemerged as one of the best pitchers in the game, posting a 0.38 ERA through his first four pitching starts with 25 strikeouts in 24 innings.
He will next take the mound on Tuesday against the Marlins.
Don’t expect consternation over his special rules to die down before then.
