CHICAGO — While dealing with a cluster of injuries on his pitching staff, Cubs manager Craig Counsell was asked for an explanation why clubs in these situations don’t have additional roster flexibility. Counsell paused, exhaled and referenced the Los Angeles Dodgers during Monday’s pregame media briefing at Wrigley Field, describing Major League Baseball’s Shohei Ohtani rule as “bizarre.”

Though not explicitly called the “Ohtani Rule,” the two-way designation rule allows qualified players to pitch in any situation and not count toward the active roster’s pitcher total, according to MLB’s rulebook. To qualify for a two-way designation, players must meet the following criteria in either the current season or any of the two previous seasons:

Pitched at least 20 major-league innings

Started at least 20 games as a position player or DH, with at least three plate appearances in each of those games

With his two-way designation, Ohtani does not count against the Dodgers’ pitcher total on their active roster, another luxury for a franchise with an enormous payroll.

“I’ve never understood it,” Counsell said. “It’s an offensive rule, essentially. It’s a rule to help offense, more than anything, if you ask me. And then there’s one team that’s allowed to carry basically one of both and he gets special consideration, which is probably the most bizarre rule. For one team.”

From Opening Day through Aug. 31 and during the playoffs, teams are limited to carrying 13 pitchers on the active 26-man roster.

The circumstances don’t matter — the Cubs are currently capped at 13 pitchers even when two members of their season-opening rotation are on the injured list (Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton) and three late-inning relievers (Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey and Daniel Palencia) are also sidelined.

When rosters expand on Sept. 1 through the end of the regular season, 14 pitchers are allowed on the active 28-man roster.

The Cubs will visit Dodger Stadium this weekend for a three-game series against the two-time defending World Series champions. Ohtani’s next start is scheduled for Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants, meaning the Cubs will prepare for the four-time MVP as a left-handed hitter and a base-running threat rather than a Cy Young Award contender.

“There’s not another player like that,” Counsell said, “but one team gets different rules for that player.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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