Angels News: Shohei Ohtani Potentially Open to Five-Man Rotation
The Angels have deployed a six-man rotation with Shohei Ohtani in the mix to protect his arm. Most pitchers have a few days off in between throwing 100 pitches. Ohtani, however, gets four to five at-bats every day in between those starts. So, to try to limit his innings as best as they could, they've had a six-man rotation.
However, at the GM meetings, Perry Minasian was asked about potentially moving to a five-man rotation. He said the team could be open to it, but hasn't talked to Ohtani about it yet. Well, Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo, has spoken on the topic, and he thinks Ohtani could definitely make it work.
"I think Shohei, on a five-day rotation, I think he’s becoming more and more comfortable," Balelo said. "He’s realizing what he can and cannot do. He’s been in the league now five years."
If the Angels moved to a five-man rotation, the recent acquisition of Tyler Anderson would solidify the rotation. Ohtani would be the ace, followed by Anderson, breakout 2022 star Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers and Jose Suarez. Those five could turn out to be one of the more underrated rotations in all of baseball.
We know what Ohtani can do — he was robbed of being a finalist for the AL Cy Young. As for Anderson, he went 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA with the Dodgers last season, and was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. Sandoval had a career-best 2.91 ERA in 148.2 innings, and was one of the better AL pitchers in the second half of the season. Detmers had a 3.77 ERA across 129 innings, and showed his dominance in his no-hitter in May. And Suarez went 8-8 with a 3.96 ERA in 22 starts.
This may not end up being the best rotation in all of baseball, but the Angels would feel very comfortable with their starting pitcher on any given night — and that's all you can ask for in the MLB.
