Dave Roberts doesn't rule out Shohei Ohtani playing a new position in 2024

The Los Angeles Dodgers were the ultimate winners of the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, giving the reigning AL MVP $700 million with unprecedented deferrals to get him to sign the dotted line.

What makes Ohtani a $700 million player outside of his absurd marketability is his ability to perform as a two-way star. He's one of the best hitters and pitchers in the world, making him not only the best player overall today but arguably the best ever.

Dodgers fans will unfortunately have to wait until 2025 to get the full Ohtani experience, but they might see more of him this season than they initially thought.

Ohtani will not pitch this season as he's recovering from his second elbow surgery. All is not lost as Ohtani is going to DH just about every day, but that's only half of the Ohtani experience. While he won't pitch, Dave Roberts is open to the possibility of Ohtani playing the field.

Dodgers considering taking unnecessary risk by considering playing Shohei Ohtani in the field

"Shohei this year is primarily going to be the designated hitter," Roberts said. "Once we get back to the States, he is going to start his throwing program, which he hasn't started yet. We'll see how that progression goes. If his arm is healthy enough, we'll have that conversation in the field. I do know he's not going to pitch this year."

Where specifically in the field Ohtani would play is unclear, but somewhere in the outfield makes the most sense. Ohtani did play seven games in the outfield for the Angels back in 2021 with six of those seven coming in right field.

While it'd certainly be fun to watch an extraordinary athlete like Ohtani run down fly balls and throw out base runners, the Dodgers would be taking an extremely unnecessary risk by letting him play the field. They invested all of that money in him to both hit and pitch. What if Ohtani blows out his elbow making a throw from the outfield? Do they really want another elbow injury on their hands?

The Dodgers simply have no reason to do this. They can get Ohtani's bat into the lineup every day as the DH and wouldn't even lose much defensively with Jason Heyward, a five-time Gold Glover, expected to receive a bulk of the starts in right field. It'd be fun, don't get me wrong, but the Dodgers have too much invested in this guy to be taking an unnecessary risk.