My Reaction to Shohei Ohtani Signing With the Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani announced via Instagram that he is choosing the Los Angeles Dodgers as his next team.
After a wild Friday afternoon, Shohei announced on his Instagram today around 3:00 EST that he will be signing with the Dodgers. It was announced that the deal is for ten years and an insane 700 million dollars! That obviously became the most expensive contract in North American sports history and also means that Ohtani will make more money than eight entire MLB teams in 2024 (including the Marlins, sadly).
My thoughts:
I’ve seen some people say that 700 million is an overpay for a guy who is coming off elbow surgery and may not be the same pitcher he was prior to the surgery. While that is definitely a very realistic outcome, I still think this deal is 100% worth it for the Dodgers. The Dodgers will make all of that money back from ticket and jersey sales because Ohtani is a global superstar, and California has the highest Japanese population in the United States. Another reason why I think this is a good contract is because Ohtani could simply be converted into a multi-inning reliever or closer due to injury concerns later in his career. The worst scenario would be if Ohtani had to eventually abandon pitching altogether later into the contract and still hits at an MVP level.
The Dodgers
Obviously, the Dodgers front office was determined to make a big splash this offseason after their NLDS disaster last season. They already got Shohei, but they’ll attempt to sign/trade for a stud starting pitcher like Yamamoto, Cease, Burnes, Glasnow, Snell, or Montgomery. With that being said, the Dodgers best window to win a World Series is from 2024-2026.