The benefits of employing Shohei Ohtani seem to never end for the Dodgers, but his value extends beyond the revenue he generates or what he accomplishes on the mound or at the plate. Ohtani’s designation as a two-way player gives the Dodgers a rare roster advantage – one that allows them to bend MLB’s pitcher limits in a way no other team, let alone a contender, can.
Under MLB’s roster rules, each player must be designated as either a pitcher or a position player, with those listed as position players only eligible to pitch in specific circumstances (blowouts or in extra innings). This makes a six-man rotation difficult to justify, as a team would have to sacrifice its bullpen depth to comply with the roster limits.
The exemption for this rule is a two-way player, who does not count towards the 13-pitcher limit but is eligible to pitch in any scenario. This allows a team (such as the Dodgers with Ohtani) to have 14 available pitchers on any given day. In a season where pitcher health may matter more than ever, this two-way exemption could be central to the Dodgers’ push for a three-peat.
Benefits of a Six-Man Rotation
The most obvious benefit of a six-man rotation is the extra day of rest it provides starters. A strict six-man rotation reduces a starter’s seasonal workload from roughly 32 starts (32.4 specifically) to 27. That five-start reduction effectively removes a full month of starts from a pitcher’s season.
That extra recovery day can allow managers to let starters work deeper into games. This would redistribute the physical stress of pitching across fewer, better-rested outings, potentially leading to a lighter overall regular-season workload. For example, a pitcher averaging 5.1 innings per start in a five-man rotation would log roughly 172 innings over a 162-game season. That same pitcher, averaging 6.1 innings per start in a six-man rotation, would result in roughly 170 innings over a full season.
The effect becomes even clearer at the pitch-count level. Continuing with the same scenario, if a pitcher averages 86 pitches per start in a five-man rotation and 100 pitches per start in a six-man rotation, he would throw 86 fewer pitches (or one average five-man rotation start) over the course of a full season.
Starters working deeper into games also have downstream benefits for their bullpen. When bullpens are asked to cover three to four innings a night instead of four to five, managers gain additional flexibility on a nightly basis while also reducing their relievers’ inning counts over the course of a season. This is because there are fewer outs for a manager to distribute across the eight bullpen pitchers on any given night. These additional innings savings can improve a bullpen’s performance in the postseason since the pitchers will be fresher come October.
There are two important caveats to deploying a six-man rotation. First and foremost, the team needs the starting pitching quality and depth to properly employ a viable six-man rotation. If a team is running out an opener or glorified long reliever as their fifth and sixth starters, this strategy loses its value. If a pitcher struggles to mitigate damage multiple times through the order, or does not have the stamina to pitch multiple innings, the manager has to decide between relying on his bullpen for an extended outing — erasing one of the benefits of this strategy– or letting his starter allow extra runs and putting his offense in an early deficit.
The second caveat is the roster rule mentioned earlier. For most teams, a sixth starter spot comes at the cost of bullpen flexibility, since they will only have seven relievers on a given night rather than the typical eight. This reduced flexibility can limit a manager’s options and negatively affect their decision-making process.
This is where Ohtani’s two-way designation changes the equation. A team with a two-way player doesn’t have to worry about the roster construction caveat that comes with a six-man rotation.
Why the Dodgers should consider a six-man rotation
The recent Dodgers regular-season philosophy has been to win enough to ensure they make it to the postseason. By not chasing the regular-season win record, they’re able to be much more conservative when their stars suffer injuries and allow them additional time to recover so that they are fully healthy for the postseason. Once postseason play begins, and the Dodgers’ key players are healthy, they don’t hesitate to unleash their full arsenal of stars in their sprint for the commissioner’s trophy.
Despite the Dodgers’ ability to be conservative with their injuries, their starting pitching health has been a major concern over the past two seasons, as multiple players have missed significant time, and they’ve had to rely on their eighth, ninth, and 10th starters at times.
Their starter health was even more important this past season as their bullpen, despite major additions such as Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott, struggled immensely. This led to the Dodgers relying on Roki Sasaki, who began the season as a starter before getting injured, as their closer/highest-leverage arm in the postseason. Manager Dave Roberts also used Tyler Glasnow as a reliever multiple times in their postseason run, including Game 7 of the World Series, where every pitcher who pitched for LA entered the season in a starter role. Even going back to the 2024 World Series, Roberts had to turn to starter Walker Buehler to close out a wild Game 5.
The Dodgers took a significant step to improving their bullpen this offseason by signing the best reliever on the market, Edwin Diaz, away from the Mets, but the strength of the pitching staff is in their all-star caliber rotation, and they need their starters not only available, but healthy enough to impact games come October. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, there is a prominent injury risk that goes beyond the standard risk that comes with pitchers these days, and the organization needs to do everything in its power to minimize injuries.
Shohei Ohtani has had two Tommy John surgeries, and this will be his first full season as a pitcher since returning from his second surgery. When he returned to the mound last season, he was limited to a maximum of five innings per start before the postseason. Blake Snell has only three seasons in his career in which he made over 25 starts. In his two healthiest seasons (where he made 30+ starts), he won the Cy Young Award.
Glasnow has flashed Cy Young potential and has been named an All-Star, but the most starts he’s made in a season is only 22. He’ll be 32 this season, and it’s not realistic to expect him to make 20+ starts unless something changes.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto missed time in his rookie season in 2024, and his career high for innings before last season was 193.2 in the NPB. Including the postseason, Yamamoto threw 211 innings, almost two complete games higher than his previous career high. It’s fair to wonder if that workload, especially his postseason heroics on short rest, will have lingering effects on his performance in 2026.
Sasaki, similar to Yamamoto, dealt with injuries in his rookie season and spent an extended period of time on the injured list. Before being placed on the injured list, Sasaki saw his velocity drop, similar to his final season in the NPB, which led him to give teams looking to sign him a “homework assignment” to explain his dip in velocity and their plan to rectify it.
Emmet Sheehan returned from his own Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2025 and made 15 appearances for the Dodgers (12 starts). Like Ohtani, this will be his first full season after returning from major arm surgery.
Final Thoughts
Quality of starters isn’t the issue for the Dodgers. Keeping them healthy for an entire season is. In addition to the names mentioned above, the Dodgers could use swingman Ben Casparius, River Ryan (when he returns from injury), or prospect Jackson Ferris in their big league rotation.
Ohtani’s unique roster designation gives the Dodgers a rare competitive edge– one that allows them to protect their starters without sacrificing their bullpen depth. Following a six-man rotation is a method for them to keep stars fresher for the postseason by reducing their individual workloads without jeopardizing their ability to make it there.
