The Los Angeles are president of the baseball business, and Andrew Friedman recently spoke about his thoughts on the Shoe Hei Otani process of returning to the pitcher’s mound.
The three-time MVP has not thrown away the rubber in the MLB contest since August 23, 2023. This is a game in which you throw a pair of strikeouts in 1.1 innings and collect a pair of RBIs in a batter’s box on the same day.
Friedman knows more than anyone the value Otani brings only as a bang for MVP Caliber, but the team president is looking far more than he has this season.
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“When you see it on the short-term horizon, it’s easy to be offensive and want to push, I think it’s from both him and us,” Friedman said. “But we saw this as putting him in the best position for the next nine years and putting him in the best position to prioritize life expectancy. And it’s really important that this first year, that long-term aspect is not too aggressive right now.”
Friedman also spoke about the workload that comes with this generational feat that Otani has returned to.
“I can’t imagine how tiring it would be to do both,” Friedman said. “It’s one thing when you’re in the rhythm of it and you’re shape for it. But it’s been a while since he did both and we weren’t around anyone who did both at this level, so this is pretty unknown.
It’s easy to want Otani back on the mound amidst constant pitching injuries, but he’s wearing a uniform for the majority of the next decade. If sacrificing more regular season appearances in his second season in LA means more starts after October, the will be willing to continue delaying their return to MVP Hill.
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Photo credit: Jason Parkhurst-imagn Image
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