They leave door open for Ohtani to possibly close

The Dodgers are planning to use Shohei Ohtani as a starting pitcher in the playoffs, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman confirmed Monday.

- JACK HARRIS

THE EXPECTATION is that Shohei Ohtani will be a starter in the playoffs, but there will be opportunities between starts.

That doesn't mean, however, that there aren't certain scenarios in which he could also come out of the bullpen as well.

"Things play out in October that you can't foresee," Friedman said before Monday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies shortly after, coincidentally, catching up with new Phillies signing and ex-Dodgers favorite Walker Buehler, who made three starts in the Dodgers' rotation last postseason before emerging for a title-clinching save in Game 5 of the Fall Classic.

"Walker Buehler was a starting pitcher for us last year, and finished out Game 5 of the World Series," Friedman noted. "So you never know how things are going to play out." The possibility of Ohtani pitching in relief has been percolating for the last several weeks. Pitching coach Mark Prior said he could "absolutely" envision it during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show" last month. Manager Dave Roberts has more recently reiterated that the conversation regarding Ohtani's postseason pitching role remains open as the regular season winds down.

"Could it change down the road in the postseason? Possibly," Roberts said Sunday when pressed on the topic again. "But right now we see him as a starter." Friedman largely echoed that sentiment Monday, a day before Ohtani was set for his next scheduled start in a pivotal series against the Phillies (who beat the Dodgers in the series opener, 6-5, to move 52 games ahead of the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the National League standings, and the firstround bye that comes with it).