It’s been a while since Shohei Ohtani was last on an MLB mound. Before his one-inning appearance for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres last night, Ohtani hadn’t pitched in an MLB game since August 23, 2023. To put that into perspective, Ohtani was still on the Angels and hadn’t yet signed that ridiculous contract with the Dodgers the last time he had pitched. Overall, it was a shaky first appearance, with Ohtani giving up a run on two hits. The outing also saw him throw close to 28 pitches in just one inning. Granted, it’s just his first appearance, and there were positives (namely him hitting 100 MPH on the gun). However, it’s brought up a question amongst some baseball pundits — can Shohei transition into a closer role whilst still being a designated hitter?
The answer is a bit complicated.
