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Atlanta Braves legend John Smoltz made his feelings known about the rumblings of LA Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani's utilization as a pitcher when he comes back from injury. The pitching great stood his ground that Ohtani should be used as a starter and not tinker with his role.
On Sunday, Shohei Ohtani pitched in a live batting practice at Citi Field ahead of the series closer against the New York Mets. It was the first sighting of the NL MVP throwing pitches in a Dodger uniform, excluding spring training. This generated buzz as to when and which role he will play when he comes back to the mound.
"Let's just say he wasn't coming back from an injury and it was just time off they gave him, it would be a little bit more tempting to put him in a closer's role," Smoltz said Thursday (5:38). "But because he's coming off an injury, you need structured and controlled outings that you know what you're going to get."
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The former Cy Young Awardee dropped by the eponymous "Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander" podcast to discuss how MLB's modern face should be managed when he returns to pitching in regular-season games. Smoltz further reiterated that Shohei Ohtani shouldn't be used as a closer, as some experts propose.
"It would be a disservice to him based on coming back from this injury because you would have to designate games, and those may not work as a closer, right?" Smoltz said (5:52). "There's a lot of unknown in the closer's role that I just don't think coming back from an injury would benefit him."
Smoltz can certainly relate to the mechanics and changes that a shift in a position entails. For the first decade of his career, he was an award-winning starter for the Braves before transitioning to a decorated closer at the backend of it.
Shohei Ohtani's historic save
Apart from a few games during his maiden NPB season, Shohei Ohtani has always been used as a starting pitcher. The two-way superstar left the Japanese league with a 42-15 record and so far has a 38-19 record in the MLB. However, there has been an instance wherein the unicorn has been used as a closer.
In the ninth inning of the 2023 World Baseball Classic final, Japan national team mentor Hideki Kuriyama tapped on his former Nippon-Ham Fighters club star Ohtani to close out the game against the United States.
Shotime came in to replace Yu Darvish in the final frame. He first walked Jeff McNeil and got Mookie Betts to ground out to a double play. With two outs and the trophy on the line, Ohtani struck out former LA Angels teammate and Team USA captain Mike Trout to earn his sole career save and claim the title for Japan.
