Shohei Ohtani has been taken out of the designated hitter spot on Thursday. Ohtani is scheduled to pitch, and the move will allow the dual-threat to focus on hurling in an important intra-divisional game against the Oakland Athletics.
Ohtani has thrived in pitching and hitting roles this season. Through 174 at-bats, Ohtani has an on-base plus slugging percentage of .956 with 15 home runs, 38 runs batted in, and six stolen bases. When he’s toeing the rubber, Ohtani has pitched to an expected earned run average of 3.33 and is getting barrelled just 5.