How does Shohei fit into Dodgers' postseason pitching plans?

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One year ago, anticipation was high to see Shohei Ohtani get his first taste of postseason baseball. He provided some memorable moments during last year's playoff run -- exclusively as a hitter -- and came away with his first World Series ring.

As the Dodgers enter the final stages of their title defense, they can look forward to seeing Ohtani as a full-fledged two-way player under the bright lights of the postseason for the first time. They'll just have to figure out how to use him, particularly as a pitcher.

Since returning to the mound following a lengthy rehab from a second major surgery on his right elbow in mid-June, Ohtani has been a regular in the Dodgers' six-man rotation, although he was really more of a multi-inning opener early on. He has gone 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA (15 earned runs in 36 innings) and 49 strikeouts against eight walks in 12 starts on the mound.

For approximately the past month, Ohtani's arm has been built up to make full starts. But he has only completed a full five innings once, and that's where he'll tentatively be capped on a start-by-start basis this year. That could change if he and the coaching staff feel that he can still be effective past that point.

This is just one way in which how Ohtani is handled as a starting pitcher differs from the rest of the staff. Manager Dave Roberts said recently that he plans to push his starting pitchers deeper into games when it makes sense, in no small part because the rotation has become arguably the Dodgers' biggest strength of late while the bullpen has been unreliable.

Given his unique workload considerations, what does that mean for Ohtani's usage as a pitcher in the postseason?

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First and foremost, the Dodgers envision him remaining in the rotation, likely along with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. But even that could be somewhat open-ended.

"Could it change down the road in the postseason? Possibly," Roberts said. "But right now, we see him as a starter.”

Since he'll likely have a shorter leash than the other starters, Ohtani could be a candidate to pitch on the front end of a tandem. Emmet Sheehan could be a good choice to provide length behind Ohtani -- and has already done it twice earlier this season.

But the most interesting idea that Roberts has left on the table is the possibility of Ohtani coming out of the bullpen. It could be a potential solution to the shakiness from late-inning arms such as Blake Treinen and Tanner Scott.

That wouldn't be entirely new to Ohtani either, as he closed out Samurai Japan's championship game over Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

But the regulation around two-way players hitting and pitching in the same game -- dubbed the "Ohtani rule" -- is better-suited for starters.

As a starting pitcher, Ohtani is allowed to remain as the designated hitter once his outing on the mound is over. But if Ohtani started the game as the DH and later entered to pitch, he would have to finish the game on the mound. Otherwise, the Dodgers would forfeit their DH, losing Ohtani's bat.

Per Rule 5.11(b): *"If that [two-way player] pitcher bats or runs as Designated Hitter, such move will not terminate the Designated Hitter role for that Club; neither will the role be terminated in the event that Designated Hitter assumes the role of pitcher on defense. However, if that player is switched from the mound or Designated Hitter role to a position on defense other than pitcher, such move will terminate the Designated Hitter role for that Club for the remainder of the game."*

There are also the logistics of finding a window for Ohtani to warm up in the bullpen where his spot in the lineup is not likely to come up. These are factors that the team doesn't have to consider when he starts on the mound.

Typically, the Dodgers prefer to do a test run in a lower-pressure situation before committing to a change in usage like this. But Ohtani is not expected to appear in relief during the regular season, Roberts said, so that won't necessarily be an indication of the team's plans.

Taking calculated risks is a big part of postseason baseball, but most teams' pitching decisions don't have a potential impact on their best hitter. The Dodgers will have to decide whether this one is a chance worth taking.