Los Angeles Dodgers common supervisor Brandon Gomes put an finish to any hypothesis surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s future as a two-way participant.
This season, Ohtani has slotted in solely because the Dodgers’ designated hitter. The Japanese celebrity has remained on the highway to restoration as a pitcher after present process his second main elbow surgical procedure final September.
With Ohtani reportedly making progress towards his return to the mound, questions on doubtlessly ending his two-way function have as soon as once more emerged.
Whereas chatting with reporters on Monday, Gomes was requested concerning the notion that Ohtani could possibly be higher off shutting down his pitching aspect.
The Dodgers govt spoke definitively in opposition to the concept.
“His capacity to do each brings exponential worth,” Gomes argued, by way of ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. “So let’s simply say the offensive aspect takes a small step again — that’s nonetheless so invaluable, that he can do each. Oh, and by the way in which, if his offense takes a step again, it’s nonetheless MVP-caliber offense. Sure, he’s had an incredible season. However the capacity to do each is by some means nonetheless fully underappreciated.”
Whilst a one-way participant who by no means takes the sphere on protection, Ohtani has proved to be top-of-the-line gamers within the league. The Dodgers DH has batted .302 with 34 residence runs, 81 RBI and an OPS of 1.008 via 112 video games this season.
It’s doable that Ohtani particularly requested to be allowed to proceed his two-way play when he was a free agent negotiating with groups final offseason.
However whatever the reasoning, the Dodgers are clearly content material to let Ohtani take the mound as soon as he’s prepared.