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Mike Scioscia plans to get creative in his use of Shohei Ohtani

Mike Oz

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — If we asked you to list the most creative managers in Major League Baseball, there’s a good chance Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels wouldn’t be the first name out of your mouth.

But give him a new toy — say, for example, a 23-year-old who can pitch 102 mph AND hit homers — and Scioscia might start getting more creative. Such is his job now that the Angels are the winners of the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. The Japanese Babe Ruth, as he’s called, will wear an Angels uniform starting next season and Scioscia might be starting to feel like his old buddy Joe Maddon a little bit.

“I don’t think you ever lose your creativity in baseball,” Scioscia said Wednesday at MLB’s Winter Meetings at the Walt Disney World Resort. “I think that this is an opportunity for all of us to get creative with a special two-way talent and that’s what we’ll look to do.”

There’s a lot the Angels can do with Ohtani and his talents. It really just comes down to how comfortable the team and Ohtani are stretching the boundaries of what’s normal in MLB these days. This will give the Angels something entirely different to prepare for between now and opening day, but it’s a challenge for which Scioscia seems ready.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a challenge, I think it will be an opportunity to use some creativity,” Scioscia said. “I don’t think that it’s going to be a situation where you have to do this or you have to do that. In baseball you’d much rather have parts you’re trying to use than to try to find parts to use. So I think with Shohei there’s going to be a balance there of pitching and hitting, and we’ll assess it and go into Spring Training and have an idea and make sure he’s ready in Spring Training with enough at-bats, and certainly pitch counts will be where it needs to be and hopefully hit the season, hit the ground running.”

Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia is going to get creative to best use Shohei Ohtani. (AP)
Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia is going to get creative to best use Shohei Ohtani. (AP)

Could he DH when he’s not pitching? Sure. Could he play the outfield? Maybe. Could he play the field and pitch in the same game, Little League-style? Why not.

“There is a lot of things on paper that we’re looking at but right now,” Scioscia said. “This could change in two weeks, could change the first month of the season. It could change at any time. The only definite is we’re certainly committed to getting him a look as a two-way player, as a hitter and a pitcher. Now how many at-bats that translates to, how many starts that translates to, we don’t have a crystal ball, but we’re going to work through it.”

“I think with Shohei,” Scioscia continued, “what we’re projecting him to do is going to be very unique and it could be something that’s extraordinary. So we’re going to take it one step at a time and we’ll see.”

And you better believe everybody in baseball will be watching.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!