Teams can carry 14 pitchers if one of them qualifies as a two-way player. Ohtani, 31, is the only player in the major leagues who qualifies as a two-way player under MLB criteria (more on that later). That means the Dodgers are currently the only team that qualifies for the exceptionWith 14 pitchers on their roster, the Dodgers get an extra arm that rivals don't have the luxury of.Another rule introduced since Ohtani came to America allows a two-way player who has finished pitching to remain in the game as a designated hitter rather than require him to play in the field.Duquette suggests the "Ohtani Rules" are in baseball’s best interest.“He is the most marketable player in the game around the world," Duquette said.

“So any discussion about how he is employed on the field needs to be thoughtful and take into account the workload.’’Ohtani, who is a left-handed hitter and right-handed pitcher, has undergone two elbow reconstruction surgeries on his right arm – in 2018 and 2023. As a result, he did not pitch in 2019 or 2024.MLB two-way player rulesDodgers manager Dave Roberts has responded to Counsell’s insinuation that Ohtani and the Dodgers are getting preferential treatment."We're more than willing to have other teams go out and find a player that can do both (pitching and hitting)," Roberts said. “He's an exception because he's an exceptional player."It’s more complicated than that.One reason the Dodgers have Ohtani is they’re a big-market franchise that had the means to sign the Japanese superstar to a 10-year, $700 million contract in 2023.

They’ve spent massive amounts to money to surround Ohtani with enough talent to win two straight World Series titles and be favored to win a third in a row.Other teams have tried to develop two-way stars through the draft. But Rick Hahn, former general manager of the Chicago White Sox, said there’s an inherent challenge.“The challenge is that those two skills (pitching and hitting), when you're talking about an 18 or a 21-year-old and continuing that development in the minors, those two skills can very much develop at different paces,’’ he said. “The player probably wants to be in the big leagues.

The team certainly wants to get the benefit of the drafted player in the big leagues.’’What almost always wins out: the player is called up to the major leagues before he has adequate time to develop as a two-way player in the minors leagues.There was no such conundrum with Ohtani, who developed his two-way skills in professional baseball in Japan before making his major league debut in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.Not to mention Ohtani is a baseball unicorn.Shohei Ohtani pitching rules explaiendA player qualifies as a "Two-Way Player" only if he accrues at least 20 Major League innings pitched and at least 20 Major League games started as a position player or designated hitter (with at least three plate appearances in each of those games) in either the 162-game season or the prior 162-game season.John Coppolella, former manager of the Atlanta Braves, echoes a point made by Roberts, the Dodgers manager.“The rule is not specific to the Dodgers," said John Coppolella, former general manager of the Atlanta Braves. “All teams are eligible to carry a 14th pitcher if the player is classified as a two-way player.

If Ohtani signed with the Yankees or the Braves, they would be treated the same way.’’So why all the fuss?Dave Stewart, a retired pitcher who won a World Series ring with the Dodgers in 1981, said he thinks people are piling onto because the Dodgers' immense payrolls and success. That includes three World Series titles in the past six years.“Anything that is in favor of the Dodgers, then everybody's got a complaint about it or they see something wrong with it,’’ he said. “But the truth is, if other teams had the ability to do what they're doing, they would do it.”Stewart also suggested the absence of "Ohtani Rules" would create more harm than the current rules creates benefit for the Dodgers superstar.“If you got a two-way player that's capable of doing it… then you have to create a special rule, a special situation for that type of player," Stewart said. “You can't punish the player because he's capable of doing two things."This article originally appeared on USA TOD