Dodgers notes: Shohei Ohtani, Dave Roberts, Edwin Díaz

“It’s a rule to help offense, I think, more than anything, if you ask me,” Counsell said. “And then there’s one team that’s allowed to carry basically one of both, and that he gets special consideration. Which is probably the most bizarre rule. … For one team.” Two-way players — those with at least 20 major league innings and at least 20 starts as a position player or designated hitter (with at least three plate appearances in each game) in the current or either of the previous two seasons — do not count against the active roster limit of 13 pitchers. The rule was first agreed to by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association in March 2019, before Ohtani’s second year with the Angels, for implementation beginning in 2020. Ohtani has been the only player to qualify for two-way status thus far. Roberts on Monday night in Denver was asked about Counsell’s comments and had, frankly, an appropriate response. From Max Ralph at MLB.com: “The thing is it certainly benefits us because we have the player,” Roberts said. “But that’s something that, any team that had Ohtani would have that player. We’re more than willing for other teams to go out and find a player who can do both. He’s an exception because he’s an exceptional player. It is what it is.” Dodgers host the Cubs this weekend at Dodger Stadium, beginning Friday night in Los Angeles. Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz had arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday to remove loose bodies in his right elbow, and is expected to miss around three months. You might remember his three-year, $69-million contract signed in December, which included a conditional $6.5 million club option for 2029 “if he has a specified injury through the end of the 2028 season and he does not end the season or postseason healthy, or if he has a specified surgery.” J.P. Hoornstra for Dodgers on SI reported that Wednesday’s surgery was not the kind of procedure that would trigger the option.