The Los Angeles Dodgers are playing Game 2 of the 2025 NLCS on Tuesday, but they've already got a plan if the series reaches seven games.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday that he will have Tyler Glasnow start Game 3, and Shohei Ohtani, whose only postseason start has been Game 1 of the NLDS, will get Game 4. One of the reasons: possibly using Ohtani out of the bullpen in a winner-take-all game.
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"Shohei has been fine with rest. Potentially lines him up if we need a Game 7 out of the pen," Roberts said. "Game 3, we feel that Tyler is on regular rest, so it kind of lines him up as well. So just kind of all these things just made sense."
Theoretically, that plan would line up Game 1 starter Blake Snell for Game 5, Game 2 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto for Game 6 and Glasnow to start Game 7.
A Game 4 start would see Ohtani pitch 13 days after his previous start, a six-inning, three-run, nine-strikeout effort in Philadelphia. That game, scheduled for Friday, would be his postseason pitching debut at Dodger Stadium.
The possibility of Ohtani being used out of the bullpen has been a tantalizing idea for some. The only precedent is when Ohtani closed out the World Baseball Classic for Team Japan, famously striking out then-teammate Mike Trout to finish the game.
The Dodgers would certainly take whatever relief help they can get, given the state of their bullpen, where even their more trusted options are regularly on the verge of blowing the lead. We saw that again in Game 1, in which Blake Snell threw eight nearly perfect innings, then had to watch supposed lockdown reliever Roki Sasaki and confirmed non-lockdown reliever Blake Treinen come within a pitch of yielding a two-run lead.
The idea, though, also has drawbacks. In addition to the obvious concerns about throwing a pitcher into a role he has never filled in his MLB career — in a Game 7 on the road — Ohtani would have to either find a new position or leave the game after his relief appearance. MLB rules allow him to stay in the game as a designated hitter when he's the starting pitcher, but not when he comes out of the bullpen.
This is why the idea of Ohtani playing the outfield came up last month. He made 64 total appearances in the outfield corners during his career in Japan and appeared there seven times with the Los Angeles Angels, but it's unknown if the Dodgers would want him covering that territory when he hasn't done so in years.
Ohtani said he was "prepared" to do it when asked, though Roberts was a bit less enthusiastic. We'll just have to wait and see if a scenario comes up in which Ohtani pitches and the game doesn't end. And we'll have to get to a Game 7 first.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers will be hoping Ohtani gets going at the plate, as he entered Tuesday 4-for-29 in the postseason. He has faced some dominant left-handed pitching, most notably from the Philadelphia Phillies' rotation, but at some point, the likely NL MVP is supposed to break through that headwind.
