MIAMI, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 19: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers speaks to the media after a game against the Miami Marlins where he became the first MLB player to have at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season at loanDepot park on September 19, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The Los Angeles Dodgers have hit a bit of a rough patch recently, dropping two consecutive series to division rivals in the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants.
Now, as they look to build up some momentum with a win against the Chicago Cubs, the team has also found itself in the crosshairs of an evolving debate about preferential treatment for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Los Angeles Dodgers At Center Of ‘Shohei Ohtani Rule’ Debate
“Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell isn’t the only person in baseball bothered by the rule that allows the Los Angeles Dodgers to carry an extra pitcher because of Shohei Ohtani’s designation as a two-way player,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote, following some outspoken complaints about the so-called “Shohei Ohtani rule” from Counsell. “Many in the game are fine with the accommodations made for Ohtani, the best and most unique player in the sport. Some, though, are frustrated that the rule allowing Ohtani’s team to carry a 14th pitcher extends his already outsized impact. Still, others view his ability to remain in the lineup as a DH once he is done pitching as an inequity all its own.”
The Dodgers have captured consecutive World Series championships since signing Ohtani, who has been everything the team could have hoped for in the batter’s box, on the mound and as a draw for lucrative advertising deals. But as the team pursues a third-straight title, critics of the special treatment he is afforded by the rule book are growing louder.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Proposes Change To Shohei Ohtani Advantage
Most recently, two-time Dodgers All-Star Justin Turner called for a change to the special rule.
“The solution is to get rid of the 13 x 13 rule for everyone,” Turner posted on X, formerly Twitter, in response to a question about the rule posed by Dodgers Talk’s David Vassegh. “Let the teams structure their roster however they see best for them. It’s not about what the Dodgers get to do. It’s what the other 29 teams don’t get to do.”
Turner was referring to the standing MLB rule that allows teams to have a maximum of 13 pitchers in addition to 13 position players on their 26-man big-league rosters. Because Ohtani pitches and serves as the designated hitter, the Dodgers can, in a sense, carry a fourteenth pitcher on their roster because Ohtani is counted as one of the 13 position players that they are allowed.
If MLB were to eliminate the 13-pitcher maximum for all teams, that advantage would be lessened, which might satisfy the special rule’s critics. But it would also reduce the value Ohtani is bringing to the Dodgers, the team where Turner spent nine seasons.