DETROIT — One of the keys to unlocking Shohei Ohtani’s two-way excellence in the past two seasons was removing the restrictions on his play.

So, could they remove even more next year?

Could Ohtani pitch on four days of rest, as part of a traditional rotation, instead of working with at least five days?

“I wouldn’t count anything out,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said on Friday. “I wouldn’t. The more experienced he gets, he’s well in tune with his body and what he can do and what he can’t do. So I would never rule anything out.

“But, with that being said, he’s been pretty good on (the sixth day). To make an adjustment from that with how he’s pitched would be a lot of conversations, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”

When Ohtani first came to the majors in 2018, the Angels mandated that he have days off from DH before and after he pitched, and also that he didn’t hit on the days when he pitched. Now, that seems so long ago, because Ohtani plays just about every day. He has been the starting DH in 113 of the Angels’ 119 games, including Friday’s.

They have already decided to push the envelope a little for the final two months of the season. They had been using Ohtani every sixth game, so when there was an off day he would actually pitch on six days of rest. Now, they’ve decided to use him every sixth day, regardless of off days in between.

That’s required some rotation juggling. José Suarez pitched the day before Ohtani last week in Oakland but then he pitched the day after Ohtani this week at home. Tucker Davidson and Ohtani were flip-flopped in the rotation this weekend.

That begs the question of whether the Angels could go to something resembling a five-man rotation next season, even if they want to keep Ohtani on five days of rest. They would need a spot starter a couple of times a month to fill in the gaps.

Minasian said the Angels could do that, but it would be somewhat complicated by the new rules that limit a player to being optioned five times in a season.

“It’s a little more difficult, but there are obviously things you can do to make adjustments,” Minasian said. “We’ll exhaust all those things and take a look at all different types of stuff. Nothing is off the table.”

Another issue facing the Angels and Ohtani in 2023 is the World Baseball Classic. Minasian said the conversation still hasn’t happened about Ohtani’s role with Team Japan in the WBC, but he indicated the Angels would not prevent Ohtani from playing.

“I think it’s something that if that’s something he wants to do, we would not stand in his way,” Minasian said.

LINEUP SHUFFLE

With Mike Trout back in the lineup on Friday, Manager Phil Nevin shuffled the order, putting Ohtani into the leadoff spot, with Trout in the No. 2 spot. Luis Rengifo, Taylor Ward and David Fletcher hit in the next three spots.

Nevin said he wants Trout to always hit second, so then it’s just a question of whether Ohtani hits first or third, because he wants him to hit in the top three spots. Rengifo has been doing well in the No. 3 spot, so Nevin didn’t want to move him.

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As for Fletcher, he’s not a traditional No. 5 hitter because he doesn’t have much power, but Nevin said he’s one of the top hitters the Angels have right now.

“To be honest those (five) are the guys I want coming up the most times in the game,” Nevin said.

NOTES

Outfielder Mickey Moniak (fractured finger) is on the trip, although he’s still not ready to do any sort of baseball activities. Moniak also said he is “very confident” that he will play again this season. …

Catcher Max Stassi was out with food poisoning on Wednesday. He did not start again on Friday, but Nevin said he will catch on Saturday and Sunday.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 4-3, 3.45) at Tigers (LHP Tyler Alexander, 2-7, 3.98), Saturday, 10:10 a.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM