Dodgers may use Brett Eibner on mound and outfield

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Brett Eibner could become something MLB hasn’t seen in many years — a true two-way player.

During his last several seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Babe Ruth famously split time between the outfield and the pitcher’s mound.

In modern baseball, though, such an arrangement is pretty much unheard of. A player either plays in the field or he pitches.

But the Los Angeles Dodgers may be about to change that with a fascinating experiment.

L.A. hopes it soon can start using backup outfielder Brett Eibner as a relief pitcher, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 28-year-old righthander last pitched for the University of Arkansas in 2010. He could hit 95 mph as a Razorback, he said.

"“I’m also 25 pounds heavier, so we’ll see what happens,” he told the Times."

The Dodgers have had Eibner, acquired from the Oakland A’s during the offseason, throw several bullpen sessions at Dodger Stadium and at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He is trying to build arm strength and develop secondary pitches.

"“He’s got a great arm,” Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said. “We’ll start fine-tuning a little bit and see if there’s something there.”"

The idea is that Eibner would remain primarily an outfielder but would be available to help the Dodgers when they need an extra pitcher in the bullpen for a day or two, the newspaper reports.

The Eibner experiment comes at an interesting time.

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American teams are drooling over Shohei Otani, an ace pitcher and slugger in Japan. And high school phenom (and SI cover boy) Hunter Greene, expected to be a top pick in next month’s draft, has been compared to Alex Rodriguez and Noah Syndergaard.

Of course, Eibner doesn’t merit those kinds of comparisons. He’s just hoping added versatility will make him less likely to be sent down to the minors every time the Dodgers need a new bullpen arm.

Over the past two seasons, Eibner has spent time in Los Angles, Oakland, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Omaha and Nashville. He’s probably ready to settle in one spot.

Eibner is hitting .313/.389/.688 with two home runs in eight games.