Craig Counsell goes scorched earth on Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani over 'bizarre' loophole

The Los Angeles Dodgers don't need any help winning. But that's exactly what the league is doing by not counting two-way players against teams' 13-pitcher limit, giving the reigning World Series champions a unique edge over the other 29 MLB teams.

At least, that's how Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell sees things.

“And then there’s one team that’s allowed to carry basically one of both, and that he gets special consideration. Which is probably the most bizarre rule. ... For one team.”

Ohtani has thrown 18 innings this season - more than all but two relievers in baseball. So, to Counsell's point, the Dodgers have the equivalent of an extra go-to arm because of the fact the four-time MVP doesn't count against the pitcher limit. That fact probably feels especially relevant for Counsell, whose pitching staff has been decimated by injuries in April. An 'extra' arm right now would go a long way.

Shohei Ohtani is already a unicorn - so give the Dodgers another bonus?

For his part, Dave Roberts doesn't see a problem with it (of course, he wouldn't given it's his team that gets this edge).

"The thing is that it certainly benefits us because we have the player. But that's something that, regardless of any team that would have [Shohei] Ohtani...We're more than willing to have other teams go out and find a player that could do both. He's an exception because he's an exceptional player. Yeah, it's kind of it is what it is."

The Dodgers entered action Tuesday at an MLB-best 16-6 and Ohtani is off to a strong start (although not quite as strong as Nico Hoerner if you go by bWAR), with a 159 OPS+ at the plate and a 0.50 ERA across three starts. Of course, the solution to this problem could have been opening up the Ricketts family checkbook and signing Ohtani - but that's not how things played out.

It's a fair point. Yes, Ohtani is the exception as a two-way player - the only one in Major League Baseball - but does that mean his team should get additional roster benefits because of it? That's a tough sell at the moment, given the general malaise baseball fans, in general, have toward the Dodgers. Craig Counsell is just the one putting it out there.

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