Three of the four to replace them are internationals Neil Broom, Jimmy Neesham and Nathan McCullum.
McCullum has the temperament and aggression to turn possible defeat into victories as he demonstrated with the Black Caps in Sri Lanka.
His aggression, and that of Neesham, may be needed because there is expected to be little play today because of predicted rain.
The good news is that Jesse Ryder has recovered from his niggling injuries and will play.
Ryder's quickly hit century advanced the last game against Canterbury and led to a win by nine wickets in three days.
Ryder was hit on the fingers when batting and fielding in the slips and needed treatment.
''It took the nails off but he is now OK,'' Otago coach Vaughn Johnson said.
Ryan Duffy will open the innings in his second first-class game for Otago.
The coach is not permitting his team to be complacent because Northern Districts has three internationals in its team.
Former Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori is joined by Northern Districts captain Daniel Flynn as former test players, while Anton Devcich has played limited overs cricket for New Zealand.
A player to watch is Joe Carter, who scored a double century for Northern Districts A against Auckland A. He replaces Corey Anderson.
''I know about him,'' Johnson said.
''He is a promising young player.
''It's been a stop-start season with a mixture of twenty-20 with four day games,'' Johnson said. Otago has three Plunket Shield games before Christmas with the other games against Wellington and Central Districts.
''The next month will determine if we are going any good in our four-day programme or not,'' Johnson said.
Pace bowlers James Baker and Anurag Verma return to the Northern Districts team in place of Black Caps Tim Southee and Trent Boult. Jono Boult comes in as Vettori's spin partner.
Cameron Fletcher, who has scored three centuries in recent games for Counties-Manukau, replaces Black Cap BJ Watling as wicketkeeper.
Otago v Northern Districts
Cobham Oval, Whangarei, from today
Otago: Derek De Boorder (captain), Neil Broom, Michael Bracewell, Jesse Ryder, Sam Wells, Nathan McCullum, Jimmy Neesham, Mark Craig, Blair Soper, James McMillan, Ryan Duffy, Jacob Duffy.
Northern Districts: Daniel Flynn (captain), Graeme Aldridge, James Baker, Jono Boult, Joe Carter, Anton Devcich, Cam Fletcher, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Anurag Verma, Daniel Vettori, Brad Wilson.
