The New York Yankees will be facing the Los Angeles Dodgers for the right to be called World Series champions, starting on Friday. They were the best teams in the American and National Leagues, respectively, and have confirmed their regular season dominance with excellent October play.
The Dodgers’ pitching could be a weakness to expose
If there is a weakness on the Dodgers’ roster, it’s in the starting pitching department. This stems from many injuries suffered throughout the season. Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Tyler Glasnow, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone and others are currently unavailable due to various ailments, and the team has suffered the lack of depth.
Among the 12 teams that played in the 2024 postseason, the Dodgers have the fourth-worst ERA at 4.36. This situation might persuade them to try something bold to give themselves more quality innings.
There have been recent rumblings about the Dodgers possibly using Shohei Ohtani, who is starring as a hitter but rehabbing as a hurler. It’s unlikely, but not impossible — baseball is full of stranger things throughout history.
The Yankees will be prepared if the Dodgers opt to surprise them
Yankees manager Aaron Boone had a response to this potential development:
“Aaron Boone was asked if the Yankees are preparing for the chance that Shohei Ohtani could pitch in the World Series. “I haven’t given much thought to that, but if that’s the case, we’ll be ready for everything,” Yankees insider Bryan Hoch posted on X, with the skipper’s quote.
For what it’s worth, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said earlier this month that he didn’t anticipate Ohtani pitching in any postseason games. Life is full of surprises, though.
Ohtani would represent a huge boost for LA’s pitching staff if they use him. He has a 3.01 career ERA and 608 strikeouts in 481.2 frames, so even if he hasn’t faced hitters in a competitive environment in a while, the talent is there.
If the Dodgers are smart about his recovery, however, they would wait until next season to deploy their weapon since he is just about 13 months removed from the elbow procedure.
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