Ohtani pitching in 2021

[Angels 1961]

Are you putting him in your rotation for 2021? Not counting on him and build rotation without him. If he does pitch will just be a big plus.

[OhtaniSan]

I think we need to have 5 solid SP's and keep Ohtani as a wild card for the 6th spot. We've relied on Ohtani to be the #1 guy last two years and have been burned due to injury. 

1. Free Agent SP

2. Bundy

3. Heaney

4. Canning

5. Barria or Free Agent SP2

6. Ohtani 

 

I still think Ohtani can be and will be the ace he is capable of, but it's best to err on the side of caution when building our rotation to avoid a repeat of the last decade of relying on injury prone pitchers. 

[Jason]

He’ll be good for about 6 starts before the arm has another issue. His arm is not durable enough for MLB pitching. Keep him a hitter 

[Lazorko Saves]

8 minutes ago, Jason said:

His arm is not durable enough for MLB pitching. Keep him a hitter 

He could get injured as a hitter also, so the obvious move here is to just release him.  Right?

[Jason]

3 minutes ago, Lazorko Saves said:

He could get injured as a hitter also, so the obvious move here is to just release him.  Right?

His arm is less likely to get injured hitting. 

[tdawg87]

I'm not counting on him at all. If he does pitch, how many innings are we going to get out of him, 50? 75? 

Anything he can do from the mound is a plus, but as far as I'm concerned he's not part of the rotation in 2021. Counting on him is just setting us up for failure. 

Get Stroman and trade for a #3 starter and I like our rotation.

[Lazorko Saves]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

His arm is less likely to get injured hitting. 

Well, okay, I guess we treat Ohtani's arm like Cameron's Dad's Ferrari.  We can just rub it with a diaper.  Keep it preserved.  But never use it.

[Lou]

[Jason]

16 minutes ago, Lazorko Saves said:

Well, okay, I guess we treat Ohtani's arm like Cameron's Dad's Ferrari.  We can just rub it with a diaper.  Keep it preserved.  But never use it.

Maybe not a diaper but some BioFreeze 

[eligrba]

Trade him for a toolsy midfielder and return the Angels back to the glory days.

[Vlad27Trout27]

hmm I see people are already over Ohtani and Adell.

[Lazorko Saves]

16 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

hmm I see people are already over Ohtani and Adell.

Pfft, I'm way ahead of y'all.  I'm already over Jared Walsh and Reid Detmers.

[Junkballer]

He had 20 months to recover from Tommy John but also had the COVID crazy two part spring training in which his pitches lost the movement he had in the past.  Im confident that with a full spring training facing unfamiliar batters he will find some of that movement and command back.  He may never be the 2018 Ohtani but even as a solid #3, cross fingers, he gives the Angels more versatility.  Also, I feel more comfortable with Canning having his starts spread out because although he managed well this year, his elbow is known to continue to be fragile, whereas Ohtanis elbow should be pretty solid after all this recovery time.  Its more his command and effectiveness that is my concern.

[Angel Oracle]

80 innings since 2017 (including last season in Japan)

How is he supposed to counted on for even 75 innings in 2021?

[Erstad Grit]

I read an interesting article claiming Ohtani hitting lefty while pitching righty was problematic. Never gave that much thought but it makes some sense.

Anyway to answer the OP, from a front office standpoint even if Ohtani looks amazing during ST he should be thought strictly as a lottery ticket IMO. Assume he's a non-factor and build the rotation accordingly. If he surprises us then great. 

From a fan standpoint I think/hope he's going to have a good season but hope the front office doesn't expect it. 

[Warfarin]

I fully expect Ohtani to pitch, but from a planning standpoint, we should consider any pitching contributions from Ohtani as a bonus.

Either trade for or sign someone to slot in at the top of the rotation.  The rest (Bundy, Heaney, Canning, Barria) will slot nicely as 2-5, and Ohtani can make his Sunday starts perhaps starting in May or so and just see how it goes.

Again - if he performs well and stays healthy enough to provide 10 starts or so, we should consider that as a huge bonus.  

[jsnpritchett]

[Revad]

29 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

I fully expect Ohtani to pitch, but from a planning standpoint, we should consider any pitching contributions from Ohtani as a bonus.

Either trade for or sign someone to slot in at the top of the rotation.  The rest (Bundy, Heaney, Canning, Barria) will slot nicely as 2-5, and Ohtani can make his Sunday starts perhaps starting in May or so and just see how it goes.

Again - if he performs well and stays healthy enough to provide 10 starts or so, we should consider that as a huge bonus.  

Agreed.  If he’s effective having him rested and available for the end of the season could be a big plus.

[Erstad Grit]

What are your thoughts on him DH but late in the game having him pitch the 7th or so?

We'd lose his bat and the DH for the rest of the game but perhaps he could better give us 50 innings in the pen? 

[failos]

He's broken goods. Shitty ass swing too.

[Second Base]

The Angels need pitching, and if we're being specific, could really use an ace. We have a kid here, that's fully capable of being the best damn pitcher in baseball. I think too many people have forgotten just how good Shohei Ohtani is on the mound. 

Put him out there once a week. Let him play baseball. Don't be jaded by the past. It's a new season, he's rested and entering his prime. 

If he gets hurt, then you put him on the DL and do your best to move on. But what you don't do is limit him. The baseball world deserves better than that. 

Because if Shohei is healthy, then he's going to be a force to be reckoned with, the likes of which modern baseball has never seen before, or may ever see again.

 

Edited November 7, 2020 by Second Base

[Angel Oracle]

Question is, how many pitchers have pitched just 80 innings over 4 years, and were then able to eventually get to even 120 innings?

[Tank]

I think I’d give him one more shot on the mound for next year. I remain optimistic that this extended rest is valuable for his arms long term health. If there’s another arm injury, then the experiment is over and shouldn’t be revived.

[Lazorko Saves]

49 minutes ago, Second Base said:

If he gets hurt, then you put him on the DL and do your best to move on. But what you don't do is limit him. The baseball world deserves better than that.

Completely agree with this.  I just don't get why we'd try to shut down his pitching career.

If Canning has elbow trouble again next year, do we release/non-tender him?  Of course not.  But some of ya'll want to "release" or "non-tender" Ohtani the pitcher already at age 25?  Ohtani is like having two cost controlled players for the price of one, and going hitter-only with him is just like placing one of those players on irrevocable waivers.

Edited November 7, 2020 by Lazorko Saves

[Yes We Can]

I think Ohtani will have a good year. My projection is he will start around 22 games and will be very effective leading the team into the playoffs.