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Elephant Rumblings: Could the new Shohei Ohtani rule also help the A’s?

Happy Thursday, Athletics Nation!

Spring training keeps chugging along for the A’s, with a 5-4 loss to the Cubs yesterday. As the torrent of trades and major free agent signings dries up and teams are getting ready for the season, we can try out a largely improbable hypothetical with one of the new rules MLB introduced on Tuesday.

As part of the agreed-to rules changes detailed at ESPN by Alden Gonzalez, what has been dubbed as the ‘Shohei Ohtani rule’ will be in effect starting this season. The rule relates to two-way players like Ohtani, pitchers who are also regular hitters.