Report: Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Qualifies for 2-Way Player Status Ahead of MLB Season

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani qualifies as a two-way player in the eyes of MLB despite being unable to pitch in 2024 thanks to a change in the eligibility rule.

The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal confirmed a player can now get two-way status on the basis of his usage over the past two seasons.

Ohtani threw 132 innings and had 599 plate appearances with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, so he far exceeded the minimum qualifications.

The old two-way player rule only counted the current or previous seasons, so Ohtani wouldn't have qualified in 2025 under those conditions until he got to 20 innings on the mound.

During an offseason in which a lot of fans, and even some team owners, have lamented the Dodgers' lavish spending, it's rubbing salt in the wound for MLB to tweak a rule in a way that pretty much only applies to Ohtani.

At the same time, it wouldn't be totally fair to punish Ohtani and his team for circumstances that were beyond their control.

Nobody disputes the fact he couldn't pitch after undergoing elbow surgery, and the Dodgers are planning to utilize his two-way skill set when he's fully healthy. Manager Dave Roberts said this month he's hopeful of having the right-hander throwing in games again by May.

MLB rules stipulate teams are limited to 13 pitchers on their active roster. Once he gets the green light, Ohtani will give Los Angeles a 14th arm because two-way players don't count toward the pitcher total.

Ardaya and Rosenthal noted the Dodgers will benefit greatly from that since they're aiming to use a six-man rotation. Being able to spread the workload across six rather than five starting pitchers could help the reigning World Series champions avoid the injury problems that nearly sunk their quest for a title in 2024.