Los Angeles Angels: Shohei Ohtani to pitch on Wednesdays?

When Shohei Ohtani returns to the rotation in mid-May, Wednesday could be his day.

Call the Angels box office and get your Wednesday ticket plan! Joe Maddon was coy in answering reporters questions about the possibility of Shohei Ohtani pitching on hump day this season.

“That’s a nice day … I think if you look at it, there’s a lot of common sense,” Madden said.

The Angels plan on giving Ohtani a day off before and after each of his starts this season, so Wednesday becomes a logical day of the week for him to pitch considering the team frequently has an off day on Thursday due to travel.

If we mark May 13 as a hypothetical return date, the Angels have six off-days on Thursday over the final 19 weeks of the season, excluding the All-Star break. In comparison, if Ohtani were to pitch on Sundays, as he did during his rookie season, the team only has four off-days on Mondays from mid-May until the end of September.

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The two-way phenom started 10 games in his rookie season, all on at least six days of rest. He finished 4-2 with 3.31 ERA. The Angels hope he is fully recovered when he returns to a rotation in desperate need of an Ace.

One random thing to consider: pitching on Wednesdays will expose Ohtani to more night games than if he pitched on Sundays. It’s hard to say if these numbers matter anymore, but I will mention that he was 0-2 with a 5.30 ERA in five night starts versus 4-0 with a 2.18 ERA in five day starts in 2018.

1 More Thing

The Angels Cactus League match-up against Oakland on Wednesday was rained out. But that didn’t stop Ohtani from getting in a bullpen session. In front of a large gathering, the right-hander threw from a full wind-up. He clearly didn’t want to let the poor weather get in the way of his throwing day.