Angels will be 'flexible' about Ohtani at DH
Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia plans to enter the season without any concrete plans on how to use Shohei Ohtani as a two-way player.
The Angels have deployed Ohtani three times throughout the first week of spring - once as a starter and twice as the designated hitter. He's scheduled to make his second spring start Friday on five days rest.
| Date | Pos | Ohtani usage |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 24 | SP | 31 pitches |
| Feb. 25 | -- | DNP |
| Feb. 26 | DH | 3 PA |
| Feb. 27 | DH | 3 PA |
| Feb. 28 | -- | DNP |
| March 1 | -- | DNP |
| March 2 | SP | TBD |
Scioscia said that while it's unlikely Ohtani will hit on days before or after he pitches - the current schedule the Angels have used illustrates that - he won't completely rule it out.
"There is a lot of effort a pitcher has to put into pitching, and obviously it might erode some of the opportunities he has to hit. But we're going to be flexible with everything we do," Scioscia said, according to Jack Magruder of MLB.com. "If it comes down to where he is pitching in a day and he is not going to hit the day before, so be it. If a day after, he is not available or available to pinch-hit, so be it.
"But I think we need to be flexible as we go through this to work this out."
While there will be flexibility in how they experiment with Ohani, the Angels have already stated they won't use him in the outfield or as a reliever in games he's already serving as DH.
"That will not happen," Scioscia said.
Ohtani allowed two runs off two hits (one home run) and one walk, while striking out two in his pitching debut, and is 1-for-4 with two walks and a strikeout while hitting this spring.