Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell added some fire to his team’s weekend trip to Los Angeles.
The Cubs are now back home against Philadelphia, but Counsell used a question about roster limits to take aim at a rule that appears to favor the Dodgers. Under current MLB rules, teams are limited to 26 active players overall, including 13 pitchers. However, because Shohei Ohtani qualifies as a two-way player, he does not count against that 13-pitcher limit.
That effectively allows the Dodgers to carry 14 pitchers, a roster advantage no other team currently has. Counsell didn’t hold back, calling it one of the most bizarre rules he’s encountered.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pushed back on the criticism, saying “We're more than willing for other teams to go out and find a player who can do both. He's an exception because he's an exceptional player.”
So the question becomes: is this a loophole, or a fair reward for a unique player?
Other Teams Could Use the Rule
Counsell missed slightly in suggesting this rule exists for one player. Ohtani is the only one currently taking advantage of it, but he’s not the only player with that kind of skill set.
When the Kansas City Royals drafted Jac Caglianone in 2024, there was real speculation he could follow a similar path. At Florida, he worked as a starter on the mound while also playing first base, giving the Gators a power bat on days he wasn’t pitching.
Kansas City has gone a different direction, however. Caglianone is now in the majors, but he never threw a pitch in the minors. The organization prioritized his development as a hitter and chose not to explore the two-way route.
The bar to qualify isn’t especially high: 20 innings pitched and 20 starts at another position. For a player with that ability, it’s a manageable threshold. If another team truly wanted to take advantage of it, the opportunity is there.
Ohtani’s Edge is Overblown
As a starter, Ohtani only pitches once every five days. Most of his value still comes at the plate, and even when he does pitch, it’s typically for a limited number of innings.
So far this season, he’s thrown 18 innings. In his entire time with the Dodgers, he’s only at 65. That’s largely due to the elbow surgery he underwent before the 2024 season, which limited him to hitting and fielding. Even without fully tapping into his two-way ability, the Dodgers have still gotten elite production.
The Angels operated under the same rule, and it didn’t translate into an advantage. Despite a Rookie of the Year and two MVP seasons from Ohtani, they never posted a winning record. They lost 89 games or more in three of his final four full seasons.
That’s the key point. The rule by itself doesn’t create an edge, it only matters if the rest of the roster can support it. The Dodgers have that infrastructure. The Angels didn’t.
Sports Create Such Rules When Needed
When Pat Venditte reached the minor leagues, there was no rule governing switch pitchers. MLB hadn’t accounted for an ambidextrous pitcher, which led to a standoff when Venditte faced a switch-hitter. After that, the league stepped in and created a rule: the pitcher must declare which arm he’ll use before the at-bat, and stick with it.
That’s an example of a rule effectively created for one player. To this point, Venditte is the only one it has ever applied to.
The two-way rule is similar in practice. It mainly affects Ohtani because he’s one of the few players capable of using it. That’s not a flaw in the rule, and it’s not something the Dodgers should be criticized for exploiting. Other teams could pursue the same path if they wanted to. They’ve simply chosen not to.
Parting Shot
Counsell had a point in bringing up roster limits. If a team wants to carry 17 pitchers and nine hitters, that should be its choice. If that decision backfires and a pitcher ends up at third base, that’s the tradeoff.
But extending that argument to Ohtani is a different conversation. Baseball already allows position players to pitch in certain situations, such as when the game is out of hand. The game has built-in flexibility.
That’s why the Dodgers aren’t doing anything out of line by using Ohtani as a two-way player. The rule works as intended, and it applies to anyone capable of meeting it. Counsell’s broader point about roster construction has merit, but this specific complaint doesn’t hold up.
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