Shohei Ohtani will not pitch next year for the Dodgers after he had surgery on his elbow following the 2023 season, but the superstar will be available as a designated hitter throughout the season. However, depending on how Ohtani’s elbow heals, Los Angeles could play him at another position down the stretch.
While appearing on The Dan Patrick Show, manager Dave Roberts revealed that Ohtani told the team he may be willing to play the outfield at the end of next season, once his elbow is healthy.
“There was even a little talk with Shohei about, come September, when he can pick up a baseball and throw, would he be open to taking some balls out there in left field? And he said, ‘If it works, and my arm feels okay, I’m open to it,’” Roberts said. “We’ve got a lot of time before we get to that point.”
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Ohtani has some experience playing the field, as he’s played 8.1 total innings in the outfield during his major league career. Those all came with the Angels in 2021, when Los Angeles had to put him in the field after taking him out of the game as a pitcher in order to keep him in the lineup.
Since then, MLB has instituted a rule that allows Ohtani to remain a designated hitter even after he is pulled from the game as a pitcher, so the Angels never had a reason to play him in the field. Over the course of his 10-year contract with the Dodgers, Ohtani may see more opportunities in the outfield depending on how his arm recovers from elbow surgery.
