Overview
- Cubs manager Craig Counsell criticized the rule Monday before facing Philadelphia, calling the Dodgers’ extra-pitcher allowance “the most bizarre rule.”
- MLB limits teams to 13 pitchers on a 26-man roster until Sept. 1, when rosters expand to 28 with a 14-pitcher cap.
- Shohei Ohtani holds a two-way designation, so he does not count as a pitcher and the Dodgers can carry 14 pitchers now.
- The two-way tag requires at least 20 MLB innings and 20 starts as a hitter with three plate appearances in each game in the current season or either of the two prior seasons.
- Ohtani is the only current qualifier and no change has been announced, with Chicago’s heavy pitching injuries sharpening Counsell’s complaint.