Complaints surrounding Shohei Ohtani have become a constant across Major League Baseball. Sometimes they come out of Toronto Blue Jays, with John Schneider questioning the extra time Ohtani gets to warm up; other times from Chicago Cubs, where manager Craig Counsell points to the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ supposed advantage of carrying an extra pitcher on their roster.
This time, Counsell took it a step further by tying it to his own team’s pitching struggles.
“I’ve never understood it,” he said. “It’s an offensive rule, essentially. It’s a rule to help offense, more than anything, if you ask me. And then there’s one team that’s allowed to carry basically one of both, and he gets special consideration, which is probably the most bizarre rule. For one team.”
Dave Roberts didn’t take long to respond-and his message was as clear as it was direct
“The thing is it certainly benefits us because we have the player,” he said. “But that’s something that any team that had Ohtani would have that player. We’re more than willing for other teams to go out and find a player who can do both. He’s an exception because he’s an exceptional player. It is what it is.”
At its core, the point is simple: if you want to take advantage of the Ohtani rule, you need a player capable of doing what Shohei Ohtani does.
At no point does the so-called “Ohtani rule” limit its use exclusively to the Dodgers. Any team could benefit from it-as long as they have a player with that unique skill set. In theory, Counsell could try something similar with Pete Crow-Armstrong, using him as both a pitcher and a hitter, though the outcome might be very different.
Beyond that, Los Angeles has already shown it can win even when Ohtani isn’t in the lineup while pitching. Last week against the New York Mets, the Japanese star made his third start of the 2026 MLB season while Dalton Rushing took over as designated hitter. The result was decisive: an 8-2 win, highlighted by Rushing’s first career grand slam.
Even if the Dodgers were forced to keep Ohtani out of the lineup every time he pitches, they would likely keep winning.
In reality, Counsell’s comments seem more rooted in his own pitching staff issues. With Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton out of the rotation, and Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, and Daniel Palencia missing from the bullpen, the challenges are obvious.
But that doesn’t change the bigger picture: Shohei Ohtani isn’t an unfair advantage-he’s a historical outlier. And any team that wants to level the playing field will have to find-or develop-its own two-way superstar.
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