Dodgers Benefitting From Major MLB Rule Change Involving Shohei Ohtani

Gabe Smallson | Feb 15, 2025

Feb 11, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) warms up during spring training camp. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to see their reigning National League MVP do something that he has never done in a Dodgers uniform.

Despite a historic season — becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 50 or more home runs and swipe 50 or more bases in a season, among other things — there is still more for Shohei Ohtani.

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As much as this sounds like a legend of baseball lore, the three-time MVP is also a phenomenal pitcher.

Recovery from a UCL injury in his elbow kept him off the mound in 2024, but Ohtani last pitched in 2023 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels. He threw 167 strikeouts to only 55 walks, sporting an ERA of 3.14.

It is worth noting he clobbered 44 home runs that season with an OPS of 1.066, once again stunning the baseball world.

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There was a potential roadblock for Ohtani as he looks to make his long-awaited return to the mound.

Ohtani is a two-way star, but many around the league wondered if he would still be able to attain official two-way player status from MLB due to a 2023 shift in language of the rulebook.

The significance here is that a two-way categorized player only takes up one roster spot, thus allowing the stacked Dodgers pitching roster to have another arm.

The original rule, first implemented before the 2020 campaign, read that a player could only get this two-way status with at least 20 major league innings and 20 starts as a position player or designated hitter.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Fabian Ardaya detailed this rule and discussed its implications, saying that the original language "was adjusted temporarily for 2021 after COVID-19 shortened the 2020 season to 60 games, allowing players to still qualify if they reached those thresholds in either of the past two seasons. The new change, implemented ahead of the 2024 season, effectively made that tweak permanent."

Luckily for Ohtani and the Dodgers, despite not touching the mound for the entirety of 2024, the three-time MVP gets his two-way eligibility.

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