The reality of the Shohei Ohtani rule isn't anything non-Dodgers fans want to hear

Much has been made of the rules changes in recent years that have benefited Shohei Ohtani and, consequently, the Dodgers. That conversation reached a fever pitch recently when Cubs manager Craig Counsell sniped at the Dodgers over the club's ability to count Ohtani as a position player rather than a pitcher for the purposes of roster limits.

While fans and even personnel with rival teams might be frustrated by what they perceive as preferential treatment for the Dodgers, the reality is much more nuanced than that. Josh Peter of USA Today relays comments from former MLB GM Dan Duquette that help contextualize those rules. Duquette (rightfully) calls Ohtani "a treasure" and argues that his marketability makes the rules pertaining to his usage good for the game.

It's a fairly easy argument to make. It goes without saying that Ohtani is not only the biggest star baseball has, but one of the most popular athletes in the world. Back in 2023, USA Today's Bob Nightengale wrote that Ohtani generated at least $20 million annually for the Angels. His value to MLB as a whole is surely even higher, as the Associated Press reported ahead of Opening Day last month that Ohtani is leading the league in jersey sales for the third straight season.

Those are massive financial benefits for baseball, all focused around one player. That should make keeping Ohtani as protected as possible a top priority for the league. The rule that allows him to be counted as a position player does just that. By effectively affording the Dodgers an extra pitcher, it becomes much more viable for the team to build extra days off into Ohtani's schedule. Without that rule, the team might feel pressure to have him pitch every fifth day like a typical starter.

The benefits of the other oft-cited rule benefiting Ohtani and the Dodgers are more nebulous, but still hard to deny. That rule allows Ohtani to both start the game as a pitcher and serve as the team's DH, letting him remain in the game as a hitter even after Dave Roberts dips into his bullpen. Some fans believe Ohtani should have to leave the game completely when pulled from a start, but the league would suffer with Ohtani on the bench for late-inning moments that could become viral highlights.

The Shohei Ohtani rules do offer the Dodgers real benefits

Given those major financial benefits, it should be obvious that the sport as a whole is better off because of the league's acknowledgement of Ohtani's uniqueness in the form of special rules. Even so, the critics are right about one thing: those rules help the Dodgers succeed. When the team was without Ohtani as a pitcher during the 2024 season, L.A. found itself struggling to field a consistent rotation. Things got even worse in the playoffs, when their best pitchers were on the injured list.

Compare that to 2025, when Ohtani was able to afford the Dodgers 67 1/3 innings on the mound between the regular season and playoffs that a normal position player would not. The team's pitching staff stayed healthier overall, with players like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw benefiting from extra rest in their schedules. The difference should be even more stark this year, with Ohtani slated to pitch a full season for the first time in a Dodgers uniform.

The rest afforded to all of the Dodgers' other pitchers by Ohtani's ability to pitch as a position player is clearly beneficial to the team, even if the club proved in 2024 that they are more than capable of succeeding without it. Those benefits might frustrate some fans of other teams, but there's little question that the league is making the correct decision by prioritizing Ohtani's health and ability to continue as the game's biggest superstar and global ambassador.

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