An MLB insider criticized the Los Angeles Dodgers for how they attempted to reintroduce Shohei Ohtani into the rotation. Managers want to put their best players on the field as much as possible without taxing them and ensuring they can perform at their best.
As a result, they will try their best to balance time and necessity. The Dodgers, via a healthy eight-game lead over both the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, can afford to experiment with lineups and rotation.
Los Angeles Dodgers Accused of Disrupting Bullpen to Showcase Shohei Ohtani’s Return to Rotation
The National League Western Division looks like a one-horse race, with the Dodgers coasting to the playoffs. As a result, manager Dave Roberts decided to reintegrate Ohtani back into the rotation. Now, under regular circumstances, adding a starter that can throw 100 miles per hour with secondary pitches that possess movement would look like a no-brainer.
On the contrary, the conversation becomes a bit tricky when that player is also your best hitter. Similarly, MLB insider Jon Heyman, appearing on MLB Network, criticized the Ohtani move.
Should Shohei Ohtani be used exclusively as an opener?@JonHeyman weighs in on @MLBNow. pic.twitter.com/l0xoRxyLdX
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 6, 2025
“I also don’t think it’s great for the team that it’s going to be a bullpen game every five days. If you do that throughout the year, the bullpen is not going to be as good. They’ve already gotten several bullpen pieces on the injured list. Fifteen pitches on the IL at times, it’s incredible. They need to do what they can to keep everybody healthy.”
29 other managers live by that last sentence. Over 162 games, injuries of various degrees occur.
To this point in the season, the Dodgers have used 34 different pitchers, including starters and relievers. Of all first-place teams, no one burns through arms like the Dodgers. The Toronto Blue Jays, who lead the American League East, used the second-most at 28.
Additionally, the optics from afar make it look like Ohtani wants to supersede the others on the team. He gets to pitch, and everyone else needs to pick up his slack.
Ohtani wants to pitch. Yet he didn’t pitch last year when the team won a World Series. On top of that, a contract worth $700 million doesn’t require him to pitch. If he wants to be helpful in the field, he should go into the outfield. How will the Ohtani effect affect them down the stretch?