The recent news in Major League Baseball has been centered around Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani just recently became the first player in MLB history to record a 50/50 season with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases.
Many fans know that Ohtani isn’t only an MVP-caliber hitter, but he is also a Cy Young-caliber pitcher when healthy.
Ohtani has already undergone 2 Tommy John injuries in his career, and it is raising some questions in the baseball community.
MLB Network’s insider Joel Sherman says Ohtani is the most talented person who has ever played Major League Baseball but answers the question of whether would he be more valuable as a position player only.
Would Shohei Ohtani be more valuable as a position player only?
"This is the most talented person who has ever played Major League Baseball. THE most talented." – @Joelsherman1 @RAJr_20 | @bw51official | @MLBNow pic.twitter.com/EYbHg5nGIp
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 23, 2024
Sherman describes his thoughts on Ohtani and thinks that Ohtani’s best use as a player going forward would be to only hit and play right field.
Ohtani has not pitched in 2024 due to another Tommy John injury, but only hitting has allowed him to be more aggressive on the base paths.
His 55 stolen bases this year is by far a career high with his second-highest total coming in 2021 when he stole 26 bags.
Sherman and company believe that Ohtani could become a gold glove fielder and that this path might make the most sense moving forward to avoid another major injury.
Ohtani’s last 4 games include 14 hits in 18 at-bats with 5 home runs, 13 runs batted in, 6 stolen bases, and a 2.522 on-base plus slugging percentage.
The Dodgers and the red-hot Ohtani are primed for a postseason run in 2024 in search of their 8th World Series title in franchise history.
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