MLB Rumors: Insider Says Shohei Ohtani No. 1 Target for Dodgers in Free Agency
Possibly the worst-kept secret across the baseball stratosphere is that the Dodgers are planning to be aggressive in their pursuit of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani this winter. The team has wanted Ohtani in Dodger Blue for quite some time now, and this is their chance to land his services.
He will be a free agent this winter, and the team seems to have as good of odds as any to land the superstar player. The Dodgers can offer him a winning environment, and pay him the financial compensation that he will covet on the open market.
After another poor showing in the postseason, the Dodgers know that they can’t continue to run the organization the way they have been. Something needs to change, and that change could be them doing whatever it takes to land Ohtani.
MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today has reported that the Dodgers number one priority in free agency remains Ohtani, especially given their performance in the postseason.
“The Dodgers, whose No. 1 target this winter remains Shohei Ohtani, say that simply winning the NL West is no longer acceptable. They have won 211 regular-season games in two years but only one in October, after being swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks this year.”
Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today
President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman knows that the team needs to do better, and he has spoken about them doing more to fix their playoff issues going forward.
“For a team this talented to play 27 innings where we do not hold a lead,” Dodgers president Andrew Friedman said, “it’s something we have to figure out.”
Per Andrew Friedman via USA Today
Ohtani won’t be able to take the mound this coming year due to a torn UCL but his bat is still very valuable in itself, and the Dodgers will be paying for more than just the one season of Ohtani. He would be a great start to the offseason, and it could help reenergize the fanbase after a tough ending to the season.
LA can’t afford to have another lackluster offseason, otherwise, the fans may lose interest. This is the winter that the team has been waiting for, and it is time to correct the problems from years past.
Required Reading
Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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I’m all for adding Ohtani; what a lineup that would be! But it seems to me we really need pitching in 2024. Lynn is gone. Urias is gone. Kershaw is likely gone. May and Gonsolin won’t be available. So it’s just the sophomores? Can we really afford to wait until 2025 (when Ohtani can pitch again) to field a competitive starting rotation?
I agree pitching is more important than a DH. If they want to get Ohtani and more pitching they might have to shed some salary elsewhere. Muncy and Taylor come to mind.
And you can judge the validity of Nightingales comments by his statement that Ohtani is their #1 priority. That’s not correct, pitching is their #2 priority
Yes we can afford to wait for the arm. We need his hitting right away because he has a rare combination of being able to hit for average and for power. We needed hitting for contact in the postseason (a .300 average would be nice at the two or three hole given the home run happy Dodgers last year—which does not play out in the postseason). That plus the fact that he hated playing for the Angels—which he learned upon arrival were not in LA! So yeah, he wants to play for the Dodgers, and the Dodgers need him..,now!
Why are my comments not showing up? It shows a message that it is being reviewed by a moderator and it never appears. They are not controversial, just sharing my opinions like the other posters.
Forget ohtani. Sign Snell, montgomery any top notch pitcher, 2-3 guys. Have kershaw as a # 3-4 pitcher, release yarbrough. Trade for Burnes.