Former Dodgers Utility Player Will Report to Spring Training as a Pitcher

File this one under “in case you missed it.”

Charlie Culberson, whose 63 games in a Dodgers uniform included a couple memorable homers and five postseason starts, is a pitcher now.

In fact, he has been since last year — sort of.

Culberson said in a September interview that he had been trying to extend his career as a two-way player earlier in the 2023 season, but his progress was interrupted when the Atlanta Braves called him up to the major leagues to serve as a backup infielder.

The 34-year-old veteran has made some progress honing his pitching skills over the years.

In eight career relief appearances from 2018-22 with the Braves and Texas Rangers, Culberson allowed only one run. Those outings were effectively mop-up relief appearances designed to spare his club’s full-time relievers.

After announcing his intend to transition to the mound, Culberson found his way into four minor league games at Triple-A Gwinnett last year. Although his final numbers weren’t pretty — eight hits and five runs allowed (two earned) in 3.2 innings — Culberson did record five strikeouts along the way. Here’s one:

Culberson debuted with the San Francisco Giants in 2012 and has appeared in 586 regular season games since then. He’s appeared at every position except for catcher and center field for the Giants, Rockies, Dodgers, Braves, and Rangers.

Other than one season in Atlanta (2018, when Culberson had a .792 OPS in 113 games), he’s found playing time hard to come by at the major league level. Culberson has a career .248/.294/.386 slash line and 0 Wins Above Replacement.

In that context, Culberson’s chase for the two-way dream is understandable. He’s little more than two years shy of 10 years of service time, after which major league players receive a fully vested pension fund.

Friday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the Braves will send Culberson to their minor league camp to begin his first full spring training as a pitcher. He won’t eclipse Shohei Ohtani’s jersey sales anytime soon, but it’s certainly possible MLB could have another two-way player in the league before long.