The designated hitter hasn’t always lived up to its title after 2 full MLB seasons in both leagues
Atlanta Braves' Marcell Ozuna hitrs a single during the sixth inning of Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, in Philadelphia.
FILE - Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani walks in the dugout during the ninth inning of the team's baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Anaheim, Calif., Sept. 16, 2023. Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell and Aaron Nola were among the 130 players who became free agents Thursday, Nov. 2, as baseball's business season began the day following the Texas Rangers' first World Series title. Max Muncy, Joe Jim茅nez and Colin Rea gave up a chance to go free and agreed to new contracts with their teams.
Milwaukee Brewers General Manager Matt Arnold speaks during the Major League Baseball's general manager meetings, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Arizona Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen speaks during the Major League Baseball's general manager meetings, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
San Francisco Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi speaks during the Major League Baseball's general manager meetings, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) 鈥� The universal designated hitter has been part of Major League Baseball for two full seasons and, much to the chagrin of some National League traditionalists, the sport has survived and even thrived.
In a somewhat surprising development, though, many teams are struggling to get much production from that spot.
The next generation of big-bopping DHs like David Ortiz, Edgar Martinez and Frank Thomas hasn鈥檛 materialized, with just three players logging at least 110 games at designated hitter during the 2023 season. That trio includes Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna and the Nationals鈥� Joey Meneses.
The general consensus at this week鈥檚 general managers鈥� meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona, is that filling the position 鈥� and getting production from it 鈥� is harder than it looks.
The American League has had the DH since 1973, while the National League made the full-time switch in 2022. The NL also used the DH in 2020 during the COVID-19 shortened season.
鈥淢ost hitters that you encounter don鈥檛 like to DH,鈥� Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an acquired taste. Most would prefer to play a position and not just wait to hit every two or three innings. And I get why 鈥� you want to stay active, you want to move around, feel like you鈥檙e part of the game.鈥�
Instead of having one dedicated DH for the majority of the season, most MLB teams seem content to have several, cycling players through who might need rest or are nursing an injury.
A whopping 13 of MLB鈥檚 30 teams received production at DH that was below replacement level. The DH is unique for the widely used WAR (wins above replacement) formula because it starts with a deficit for a player providing no value in the field.
The NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks were one of the teams that struggled at DH, with a minus-1.4 WAR total, according to FanGraphs. The spot produced just a .676 OPS during the 162-game regular season, which was well below the team鈥檚 overall mark of .730.
D-backs GM Mike Hazen agreed he鈥檇 like to see more production at DH, but said there are other ways to use the rule that WAR can鈥檛 completely quantify.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e rotating your fourth outfielder through the DH spot, or one of your primary center fielders through the DH spot to give them a day off, that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e using it for now,鈥� Hazen said.
鈥淲e鈥檒l probably still keep doing that because there鈥檚 value in keeping guys fresh and healthy.鈥�
San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said he would love to have an Ortiz-type player in the DH slot, but it鈥檚 hard to find that sort of hitter. Ortiz is considered the gold standard, making the Hall of Fame in 2022 after clubbing 541 homers, including 485 as a DH.
The Giants used 10 designated hitters in 2023.
鈥淚 think when you get elite, elite hitters that don鈥檛 have a home defensively, you鈥檙e willing to pay the price of not having that spot to rotate guys through,鈥� Zaidi said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 a relatively small group of players.鈥�
Zaidi鈥檚 point about roster construction is also important, because teams usually carry just 13 or 14 position players. That doesn鈥檛 leave much room for a player who鈥檚 not useful in the field.
鈥淚 know for us in development, no matter how good a player is offensively, you鈥檙e always going to look for a home for them defensively,鈥� Zaidi said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want a player anchored to that spot, certainly early in their career.鈥�
There are a few hitters in this year鈥檚 free-agent class who could be candidates for a full-time DH role. Rhys Hoskins has a homer-hitting track record and is returning from ACL surgery. J.D. Martinez, Jorge Soler and Teoscar Hern谩ndez are other examples of power bats with middling defensive value who are looking for a home.
The Milwaukee Brewers are among the teams that could use an upgrade at DH. They were the worst team in baseball with a minus-1.6 WAR at that spot.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure there are a lot of David Ortizes out there,鈥� Brewers GM Matt Arnold said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e certainly looking for the next one.鈥�
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