Shohei Ohtani Agrees to Sign With Dodgers in Biggest Free Agent Deal Ever
The greatest free agency battle has officially come to an end, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have won.
On Saturday, two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani officially announced that he is signing with the Dodgers, marking the most expensive free agent signing in franchise history. His deal is for $700 million over 10 years.
Ohtani is the greatest player the sport has ever seen, and he’s joining a team that has won 10 of its last 11 division titles, with one World Series in that span. However, this team wants more.
The Dodgers have suffered back-to-back disappointing National League Division Series exits, and now they’re bringing in the sport’s most dynamic player — one who has his own goals that the Dodgers can help him achieve.
Ohtani has never played postseason baseball. The only playoff-like experience he’s had since joining MLB was in this year’s World Baseball Classic. Ohtani led Team Japan to a win over Team USA in the final, and he showed out on the biggest stage.
The baseball world has waited to see him perform in a postseason, but the Angels have disappointed each and every year he’s been there.
Now, however, he’ll bring his talents to the powerhouse of the NL West, hoping to lead them to their second championship of the decade, and first full-season championship since 1988.
Shohei Ohtani Scouting Report and History
Ohtani to the Dodgers is a deal nearly seven years in the making, as the Dodgers were one of the finalists for Ohtani back in 2017. However, the National League didn’t have the designated hitter back then, so Ohtani chose to go to Anaheim to join the Angels and show off his two-way abilities — and that’s exactly what he did.
Ohtani burst onto the scene in 2018, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award after hitting .285 with 22 home runs, 61 RBIs and an OPS of .925 while also sporting a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts.
Then, Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery, and made just two pitching appearances in 2020 before getting back up to full speed for 2021. That’s when he took off.
Ohtani’s 2021 season was one of the best we’ve seen in baseball history, as he slashed .257/.372/.592 with 46 home runs, 100 RBIs, 26 doubles, eight triples and 26 stolen bases. On the mound, he went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA, and had 156 strikeouts in 130.1 innings pitched.
He would go onto win his first MVP award that season, but again, he was just getting started.
While Ohtani’s offensive numbers dipped a little in 2022 — he hit .273 with 34 home runs and 95 RBIs — his pitching took the next step.
Ohtani went 15-9 with an incredible 2.33 ERA, and struck out an unbelievable 219 batters in 166 innings. It took a herculean performance by Aaron Judge to take a second MVP award away from Ohtani, but in 2023, he quickly retook his throne as the class of the American League.
This past season, Ohtani had his best yet, slashing .304/.412/.654 with 44 home runs, 95 RBIs, 26 doubles, eight triples, 20 stolen bases and an OPS of 1.066. On the mound, he sported a 3.14 ERA and struck out 167 batters in 132 innings, before shutting down his pitching after suffering a torn UCL.
Despite that injury, however, he continued to hit (and hit well), before hurting his oblique and finally shutting down his 2023 season.
Ohtani won the unanimous MVP despite playing in just 135 games, becoming the first player in MLB history to win multiple unanimous MVPs.
Then, he entered the most highly-anticipated free agency in professional sports history.
But in the end, it was the Dodgers who prevailed, a conclusion that felt like the worst kept secret in the league.
Why Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers Just Makes Sense
While no one ever knew what Ohtani truly wanted — as he rarely speaks to the media and is a very private person — it seemed pretty clear that Ohtani and the Dodgers were a match made in heaven.
With the Dodgers, Ohtani would be able to remain in Southern California, join a perennial contender and World Series favorite, play for one of the most historic franchises in MLB history and play with a team with one of the best rehab and recovery departments to help him through his second major elbow surgery — the doctor who performed his surgery, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, is also the Dodgers’ team doctor.
Injury or not, the Dodgers wanted to bring the Japanese superstar to Los Angeles, and finally, that dream has become a reality.
The Dodgers sat out last offseason with their eyes set on the big prize, and finally, Andrew Friedman and co. made it happen.
Shohei Ohtani is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The greatest Sho in baseball is coming to Dodger Stadium.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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oh my god!!!!!
Your entire organization has lost all credibility. Good job.
This is the Internet, 2023. People rarely admit they screwed up, they just pretend nothing happened or just double down.
The Dodgers were balls deep, while the Jays were where they always are – in the friend zone.
I LOVE L.A. Thank you SHOHEI. Thank you Andrew.
Huh. Feels like yesterday I read that he was signing with the Blue Jays. Will report back when I discover who botched that one…
Idiot click-bait bloggers. Nice job yesterday, morons.
Job One for Dodgers Nation: Clean house.
Still won’t win a championship without good to great starting pitching.
One thing at a time. Shohei’s money is “majority deferred” allowing the Dodgers to continue to spend to rebuild the starting staff.
Wait wut? Yesterday, JP Hoornstra reported here on Dodger Nation the Shohei signed with Toronto. So who’s right and who’s wrong? Now I’m totally confused. But sources say…
Good .
Now the Jays have plenty of money to lockup Vladdy, Bo and another superstar.
haha. ok fine.
yea. Lower case. I fear they paid way too much and it will hamper the team for years on being able to pay other players. Nothing against Ohtani, he’s at worst a once in a generation talent, perhaps one of the top all time and seems like a good guy too, unlike a couple of pitchers the Dodgers have had in recent years with legal or MLB domestic violence troubles.
I should be celebrating, but somehow I’m skeptical.
Blue Jay fan here. In all seriousness, I never thought he was in play for our team. We all knew Ohtani wanted to be close to Japan and the fan base. His only requirement was a “winning” club. Dodgers have that. Blue Jays potentially have that as well, but now you avoid the AL East and are 2,000 miles closer to home. It was absolutely NO surprise he went to LA. He just basically stiffed you into overpaying him $700 mil is all. For $700 mil you can have him. No 1 player is going to fix the Blue Jays. Hell even Babe Ruth needed Gehrig and 5 other HOFs to win.
Glad we could relieve you of the burden of signing The Unicorn. We Dodger fans will suffer through on your behalf.
Dodgers did you a big favor. If the Dodgers don’t improve their starting pitching, they will not fair any better in the playoffs.
It feels like J.P. Hoornstra should’ve written this article.
He might be busy cleaning out his virtual office.
What are we going to do to J.P. Hoornstra? And to the Orange County Register? And to Dodgers Nation which stood by its sources? Make them pay part of the $700 million for negligent reporting causing the populace to suffer anxiety and depression? Demand that they exist the business?
The $700 million seems like an overpay, but — 4 million tickets will be sold next season, $10 extra from each of the 4 million, combined from increased ticket prices and profits from increased prices for food and drink. That is $40 million for next year right there. The Dodgers can now sell advertising patches on their uniforms — another $20 million. And additional sales of Dodger merchandise at the stadium store and remote location Dodger stores [Santa Monica Third Street Promenade]. Another $10 million. And sell the naming stadium rights to New Balance — New Balance Field at Dodger Stadium. $100 million over ten years. That is $80+ million per year in increased revenue to pay for his contract. Plus $5 million for every extra playoff game.