Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell publicly voiced complaints about the 'Ohtani rule' for Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (32).
MLB.com, the official Major League Baseball site, said on the 22nd (Korean time), "Shohei Ohtani is a singular player in many respects and draws attention wherever he is. He is designated on the roster as a two-way player, so he is not counted toward the Dodgers' 13-pitcher limit within their 26-man roster. The rule, introduced in 2020, was again a topic of discussion on the day the Cubs beat the Phillies 5-1 to stretch their winning streak to six games," highlighting the controversy over the two-way player rule.
Ohtani is a top superstar with career hitting numbers of 1,055 games, a .281 batting average (3,811 at-bats, 1,072 hits), 285 home runs, 680 RBIs, 723 runs, 166 stolen bases and a .956 OPS, and pitching numbers of 103 games (546 2/3 innings), a 41-20 record and a 2.91 ERA. He won American League MVP in 2021 and 2023 and National League MVP in 2024 and 2025.
Ohtani is not only arguably the best player in Major League Baseball but also effectively the only two-way player. Major League Baseball created the so-called 'Ohtani rule' in 2020 to encourage the emergence of two-way players. Under the rule, a player who pitches at least 20 innings and appears in at least 20 games as a position player while batting in at least three plate appearances in each of those games can be designated a two-way player, and a two-way player is not counted toward the 13-pitcher limit on a 26-man roster. In other words, a team with a two-way player can have 14 or more pitchers on its major league roster.
With 10 pitchers on the 40-man roster on the injured list, Counsell mentioned the Ohtani rule when asked about roster flexibility. "I've never understood why this rule was made," Counsell said. "I think this rule is, above all, intended to help offense. And it effectively allows only one team to carry an extra pitcher and position player. That player gets special treatment. It's probably the strangest rule. For just one team," he criticized the Ohtani rule.
In response to Counsell's criticism, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "It's true that having Ohtani helps us," but added, "But any team that has Ohtani can enjoy that benefit. Other teams can also look for players who can be two-way. He is not a special player who deserves an exception. It's just that such a rule exists," he countered.
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