The Los Angeles Angels need to let exciting two-way player Shohei Ohtani continue to be just that. He just needs to do it as a reliever.
Without question, the most unique presence on the Los Angeles Angels is Shohei Ohtani.
That could be jarring to hear considering the clubhouse features two of the five best hitters you’ve ever seen play the game, and perhaps the coolest manager in MLB. But there’s no doubting the exciting appeal of the most exciting two-way talent in MLB since….Babe Ruth?
That’s how rare Ohtani’s combination of skill is, that I get to write that sentence. If you want a more recent, and historically fairer comp, we have to trade pitching for tackling, and stack Ohtani’s skillset against Brian Jordan and Deion Sanders. So outside of Russell Wilson or Kyler Murray deciding to pick up their baseball gloves again, Ohtani is in a class all by himself on today’s sports landscape.
Of course, we’ve only really seen him do that for two months.
Yep, it’s easy for anyone who didn’t draft him in fantasy baseball thinking they found a cheat code to forget that he has only done both those things simultaneously in 2018. Tommy John surgery followed, and that has been it for the pitching ever since- outside of two brief appearances in 2020 that were more glorified bullpen sessions than a real return to the mound.
However, current reports say that his electric arm is alive and well. Come to think of it, the bat is playing nicely in camp as well. That’s great news for the Los Angeles Angels and MLB alike- provided the Angels make one small, smart decision this spring.
Never let Ohtani start a game again.
Well, never let him come back out for a second inning anyway. Given the current pitching philosophy in MLB, the Angels are welcome to use him as an opener. In any event, Ohtani needs to be moved to the bullpen, and that decision needs to be made yesterday.
Think about it. He’s still fun to watch, still impacting the entire game in a way no other MLB player can match. Ideally, that 100-mph arm of his can eventually translate to high leverage innings, becoming a ninth inning option. If not, as mentioned earlier, throw him out there as an opener. Both roles create the opportunity to let him do something for the Los Angeles Angels that might become unique among all MLB players after this season:
Pitch and hit in the same game.
Obviously, that will require some creative thinking on the part of the manager. But if any manager is up to that, it’s Joe Maddon. Just once or twice per week, work the lineup magic to make that happen. Moving from DH to pitcher one day, pitcher to DH the next. Naturally, most of the time just one or the other.
Either way, he’s impacting more games, in more creative ways. That’s a skill set unique to Ohtani, and unique to the Los Angeles Angels.