The long anticipated Shohei Ohtani thread
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 10:07 pm
Alright folks, I'm starting to work on the DTBL player roster for 2019, which means it is definitely time to discuss what to do about Shohei Ohtani and any other dual threat (batter/pitcher) players who may surface in the future. Unfortunately, due to Ohtani succumbing to Tommy John surgery last fall, we don't truly need to make a decision on how to deal with this until next year. But I would imagine any team that is thinking about drafting him this year will want to know what the future might hold.
Because of the unique set of rules we use in this league with fixed position eligibility and weekly transactions, some options for dealing with players who are potential batting and pitching contributors are off the table. So as I see it for our league, there are four possible solutions. I am going to list and describe them here, without offering any personal opinions. I will then reply with my own thoughts in a separate post and encourage you to do the same. Whatever we decide will essentially become the Ohtani Rule, but I'll just refer to this hypothetical batter/pitcher as "The Player".
Option 1: Like every other DTBL player, The Player will have his position determined before the season and will only be eligible to be used at that position for the entirety of the season. However, the owning team will be the one to make that pre-season position determination (in terms of being either a batter or a pitcher, not the freedom to pick the exact position of eligibility). If The Player is not retained by a team for the upcoming season, the commissioner will make this decision.
Option 2: The Player will have eligibility at two different positions: one offensive and one pitching. Each week, the owning team will have the option to use him as either a batter or a pitcher, but not both. He will occupy only one roster spot, regardless of how he is used, keeping the total team roster limits the same as they have always been.
Option 3: The Player will have eligibility at two different positions: one offensive and one pitching. The team that drafts The Player will be able to use him at one or both of the positions every week. Normal roster limits would still apply, so if the owning team chooses to put him on the active roster at one role, but not the other, they will essentially have one more player in an inactive slot than all the other teams.
Option 4: The Player will exist as two separate entities: one a batter and the other a pitcher. Since these would appear as separate players throughout the league site, The Player could very possibly/likely be owned by two different teams. Like all other players, each entity would receive an exact position assignment before the season and could only be used at that spot.
Because of the unique set of rules we use in this league with fixed position eligibility and weekly transactions, some options for dealing with players who are potential batting and pitching contributors are off the table. So as I see it for our league, there are four possible solutions. I am going to list and describe them here, without offering any personal opinions. I will then reply with my own thoughts in a separate post and encourage you to do the same. Whatever we decide will essentially become the Ohtani Rule, but I'll just refer to this hypothetical batter/pitcher as "The Player".
Option 1: Like every other DTBL player, The Player will have his position determined before the season and will only be eligible to be used at that position for the entirety of the season. However, the owning team will be the one to make that pre-season position determination (in terms of being either a batter or a pitcher, not the freedom to pick the exact position of eligibility). If The Player is not retained by a team for the upcoming season, the commissioner will make this decision.
Option 2: The Player will have eligibility at two different positions: one offensive and one pitching. Each week, the owning team will have the option to use him as either a batter or a pitcher, but not both. He will occupy only one roster spot, regardless of how he is used, keeping the total team roster limits the same as they have always been.
Option 3: The Player will have eligibility at two different positions: one offensive and one pitching. The team that drafts The Player will be able to use him at one or both of the positions every week. Normal roster limits would still apply, so if the owning team chooses to put him on the active roster at one role, but not the other, they will essentially have one more player in an inactive slot than all the other teams.
Option 4: The Player will exist as two separate entities: one a batter and the other a pitcher. Since these would appear as separate players throughout the league site, The Player could very possibly/likely be owned by two different teams. Like all other players, each entity would receive an exact position assignment before the season and could only be used at that spot.