Shohei Ohtani's New Dodgers Teammate in Awe of His Two-Way Abilities
The thought of seeing Shohei Ohtani launch homers into the sweet summer air at Chavez Ravine has thousands of Dodger fans elated.
While he won't be sitting in the stands at Dodger Stadium with a Dodger dog and a refreshment, consider teammate Tyler Glasnow one of those fans.
When speaking with Dodgers Nation's Doug McKain, Glasnow made no bones about his excitement in not only seeing Ohtani swing the bat, but also eventually taking the mound in 2025.
Glasnow echoed what many feel when watching Ohtani play. While Babe Ruth did double-dip as both a pitcher and a hitter, we've never seen a guy in the modern era do what Ohtani has accomplished.
You're looking at a guy who can not only throw 100 miles per hour with elite stuff but also a guy who can routinely club 40 HRs in any given season.
Glasnow called the two-time AL MVP a "unicorn talent." Anyone would be hard-pressed to disagree with that assessment.
“It’s incredible. Everyone knew the two-way guys like in Little League and whatnot, but no one’s really ever seen it in the big leagues. So he is just such a unicorn talent.”
- Glasnow on new teammate Shohei Ohtani (per Dodger Nation)
Glasnow mentioned that Ohtani had reached out to him before being dealt by Tampa Bay to the Dodgers. While Ohtani largely shields his personality from media and fans, he's been quite the recruiter for his new team this offseason.
By adding Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani's recent World Baseball Classic teammate, the Dodgers have put together a potential juggernaut of a rotation. Walker Buehler is recovering from arm surgery and should be back in 2024.
Los Angeles also has Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan itching to improve on their first-year performances, plus a loaded farm system led by a host of highly-touted pitchers (Kyle Hurt, Landon Knack, Nick Frasso, Gavin Stone, River Ryan).
While that depth is impressive, it could improve more with the potential re-signing of Clayton Kershaw. There are even rumors of the Dodgers having interest in the likes of proven arms in Shane Bieber, Dylan Cease, Jesus Luzardo, and Hyun-jin Ryu.
With all of that said, that Ohtani guy is slated to join the pitching rotation in 2025.
At a time of the season when some teams struggle to identify their best projected starting pitcher — let alone five — the Dodgers can dream on a star-studded rotation for years to come.
