One of MLB’s biggest questions of the winter has finally been answered. Shohei Ohtani is heading back to Los Angeles, this time as a member of the Dodgers.
Although the past few days have been ridden with rumors galore, the two-way superstar announced on Saturday afternoon that he has agreed to a whopping 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers. Speculation was running rampant on Friday, as some bloggers continued to track flight manifests while others claimed the 29-year-old slugger finalized a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to their own special sources.
Regardless, fans of the Dodgers now have a better idea what their favorite club might look like offensively, whenever Ohtani is cleared to play. Although it is already speculated that the Japanese superstar will not pitch in 2024, there are some rumblings that he may not be ready to hit by the time Opening Day rolls around.
According to Mark Polishuk at MLBTR, “more details should become available as we get closer to spring training, though that isn’t a sure bet given Ohtani and agent Nez Balelo’s tendencies to keep quiet on specifics. Ohtani’s last few months have been marked by a somewhat unprecedented level of secrecy about not just his health, but any hints about his free agent market. It was made clear by Balelo that if any team in the chase leaked details, it would be held against them.”
Last week, Los Angeles skipper Dave Roberts made the news when he confirmed to reporters that Ohtani did indeed meet with representatives of the Dodgers. Some pundits at the time actually believed the manager’s slip could have affected Ohtani’s decision.
What we know right now is that the majority of Ohtani’s record-breaking contract will be deferred. However, there likely won’t be any specifics until the team makes the contract official. Either way, the deferred cash helps the Dodgers pursue additional talent this winter by keeping the luxury tax lower.
Obviously, the Ohtani signing leaves no room to sign J.D. Martinez, who was one of several key offensive contributors for Los Angeles last year. It also means that Max Muncy will probably be relegated to playing third base every day, especially after Roberts confirmed that Mookie Betts will be the club’s everyday second baseman heading into Opening Day.
The Dodgers apparently wanted Ohtani from the beginning, but pulled back on the reigns after he was posted because of the lack of the designated hitter in the National League. According to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, “the Dodgers scouted Ohtani as far back as high school and tried to sign him under GM Ned Colletti as a teenager before Ohtani was drafted into the Japanese professional ranks. The Dodgers initially wanted Ohtani as a pitcher, but he opted to stay in Japan and establish himself as a two-way player.”
Ohtani earned his second-career MVP award last season after leading the majors with a .654 slugging percentage and a 1.066 OPS.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
Big addition to the offense with Ohtani and getting Lux back. Dodger organization has always been brilliant about deferred salary money. I dislike that Muncy will play 3rd as defense is very important. Hopefully they can pickup Yamamoto. I am not a fan of Snell as he has not shown he can pitch deep into a game. If they can pickup an ace maybe Glasgow? That would be great as Dodgers have a bunch of young talent that is blocked
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I like Montgomery also if they miss out on Yamamoto, and they are still shopping at the upper end of the FA pitchers
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Montgomery would be great. I think they will go big with one and then a mid or lower tier. Depending on what they decide about Busch, Vargas, DeLuca, Frasso, Knack and other farm talent they have a number of guys that could get them a pitcher or two. Maybe a right handed outfielder that makes contact especially against lefties.
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Yes Tmax, they are going to need a right handed bat to platoon, with Heyward in right field, when a lefty is on the mound. I agree with your pitching prediction also one big one mid to lower tier.
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Anyone heard who the two 40 man roster guys, we traded to the Yankees, are yet?
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As far as I know, that deal has not been finalized.
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I always thought Victor Gonzales was a good pitcher, Dennis do you know much about Vivas? What about Trey Sweeney, the player the Dodgers got from the Yankees in return?
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I saw a report that Vivas goes to NY, and becomes their 10th ranked prospect, while Sweeney comes here, after playing SS all of last season at AA, as our 18th ranked prospect. We needed som SS depth so I guess it works.
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AF needed to clear two 40-man spots after signing Kelly and Ohtani so he was fortunate to get a fairly decent prospect back, and one who doesn’t need to be put on the 40-man roster.
He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft next winter so they’ll have a year to see how much they value him.
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Just read a report that the Dodgers met with Yamamoto today. They got to the face to face meeting round with him that’s impressive. I’m not going to try to get to hopeful or excited, but it’s nice to know we are still in the running for him, he sounds like a pretty impressive pitcher.
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Hey what’s up with you guys, not a single opinion on the Glasnow, Margot, for Pepiot, DeLuca rumor?
At 25 mil this season I didn’t see the Dodgers looking that hard at Glasnow, I thought if they were going after a pitcher in a trade it would be Cease, or Burns.
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I don’t like that particular trade for Glasnow because I don’t think Margot is necessary. A new rumor out there has Glasnow and Arozarena for Busch and River Ryan. That one I like better because I think Arozarena really adds something. Just rumors for now and I actually think the first one is more likely to happen, although Arozarena posted a pic of him with Shohei this morning so who knows. Maybe he’s just wishing for it to happen.
Cease will almost definitely be traded but the word out there is that the Brewers may hold on to Burnes, at least until the trade deadline. I’m sure AF is talking to all 3 teams.
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Margot doesn’t move the meter for me much either, but I understand where Andrew is coming from, he wants another pitcher, and he needs a RH bat to platoon with Heyward. Margot can play all three OF positions, and at one time was considered a pretty good outfielder, plus his splits are decent against lefties.
I’m not campaigning for Margot, I’d much rather have Arozarena, I’m saying I see why they are talking about adding him to the deal.
Not all of our pitching prospects are going to make it up with the Dodgers hopefully AF guesses right on who to keep, and who to move.
On a final note Glasnow scares the heck out of me, he’s a great pitcher, that can’t stay on the field, for a full season.
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Agree with everything you’ve said here.
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Do you think the Glasnow talks heating up the day after they meet with Yamamoto is an indicator that the front office is not very confident in their chances of signing him?
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I think they want both of them so, no, I don’t think Glasnow getting close necessarily means anything with regard to Yamamoto.
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Dodgers have signed Daniel Hudson to a minor league contract. Good move. If he can make it back, he’ll be a great asset. If not, they haven’t lost anything.
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Dodgers bring back 36-year-old Dan Hudson on a minors deal.
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This is bad news for you Dennis. Just stretches the time for you to mention him as an obscure former Dodger reliever out by another year. 🙂
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I’m still waiting for the obligatory Danny Duffy deal.
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Be patient. It’s coming. They need lefties.
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Hey Dennis, you’ve always known the Dodgers minor league system pretty well, I saw Vivas is the tenth ranked prospect for the Yankees now, do you know what his ranking was with the dodgers before he was traded?
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I’m pretty sure he was in the Top 30 a few years back, but I don’t think he was ranked last year. Average defender at second base with a mediocre arm. Never really hit for power or a high average. Maybe a solid utility guy at best.
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Just saw a report that says they are waiting for Glasnow to sign an extension, to finish the trade for him and Margot, for Pepiot and DeLuca. My wife is going to be mad, we saw DeLuca in spring training while we were in Arizona, last year, and she really liked him, she was hoping he’d make it to big team last year or this year.
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I like both Pepiot and DeLuca and I would rather we had given up two other players, but assuming we extend Glasnow by another 4-5 years, the deal makes a lot more sense now.
A lot of people aren’t too happy with Margot being included but he’s the perfect platoon partner for JHey since he hits lefties quite well. Also a good outfielder and can play all three outfield positions.
I would say this means we definitely won’t be re-signing Kike.
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Whenever we’ve traded someone I like, I have to remind myself that you have to give something to get something. If it didn’t hurt a little, it probably wasn’t a fair trade.
As long as Glasnow stays healthy, and pitches like he does when he’s healthy, this will be a good deal for the Dodgers.
With Margot here now I’m thinking they will need a left handed batting left/corner OF to share the load with Taylor. I love Taylor, but I don’t think he’s as effective when he plays everyday. I’m not sure if that guy is in the minors or they acquire someone but fielding/batting wise there is not much left to do. Pitching wise let’s see what else they do.
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Mr. Busch might be able to play a passable left field if they’d just let him play.
Don’t know what this means for Vargas. But maybe they have another trade or two up their sleeve.
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When they announced Betts was going to play second, I figured Vargas would probably be in some sort of trade. It’s tough to get playing time when you’re playing the same position as a future hall of farmer.
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Vargas has had time at 2B, 3B and LF in the minors so we shall see, but it sure seems like he’s had his chance as a regular next year cut off at the pass.
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If he was a left handed batter he’d have a shot, to back up all three of those positions.
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It’s odd to think that it’s mid December, and the dodgers have all of the fielding roster spots filled except one.
The 8 starters plus Ohtani, Barnes, Rojas, Margot, and one open spot.
I’m hoping they give Busch a chance at it, it definitely needs to be a lefty.
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I love what they have done. Hate losing two prospects that i really liked but if he’s healthy, Glasnow is the much better player of any in that deal. They have to do what it takes to outbid the Yankees for Yamamoto. We still need a bonafide #1 starter and he would be that guy while Gladnow and Buehler would be your 2 and 3 guys. Bobby Miller has the 5th starter spot pretty much locked up but we really need a lefty somewhere in the rotation. I hope that’s Kershaw by mid season but I would contact Hyun-jin Ryu’s agent and see if he was interested in coming back on a 1 year deal. He isn’t reliant on velocity and he still located and changes speeds well so i’m not worried that he’s 36. Alex Wood could be another option and he would come cheap. Then right about the time Wood usually hits the wall midseason you’d hopefully get Kershaw back and have a 4 man playoff rotation of
1. Yamamoto
2. Glasnow
3. Buehler
4. Kershaw
That would be tough to beat. We still also need to get a left handed bat to play LF and platoon with Taylor or Kike’ assuming he gets a contract offer which I believe Friedman will do. He saw the jolt of energy that it brought the team when his infectious personality is around. The entire team loves him like they loved Justin Turner who is now officially never going to be a Dodger again with Ohtani at DH and Muncy at 3B. Honestly I would rather Turner even at his age over Muncy but he’s already under contract. Could they do a reunion with Joc? That would be very interesting and he now knows and accepts his platoon role and knows his strengths. Maybe they bring David Peralta back again on a cheap deal. His bat didn’t have much power but I thought he played well last season both in the field and at the plate. Bellinger is a pipe dream although I’d love if he came back. The name I think I would keep my eye on would be Kevin Kiermaier and what his price tag would be. He would give you elite gold glove defense in the OF wherever you put him but it would be in CF and he’d also give you a little speed on the base paths. He would be my choice just because Belly is never going to happen.
Lastly, they need to get Josh Hader now that he’s finally on the open market. The Dodgers have gone a few seasons now without a shutdown closer first with Kenley’s regression than the Craig Kimbrel disaster. Evan Phillips pitched fantastic but I would rather have a guy like him available to come in at any point of the game when things are on the line and still know you have someone like Hader that has the 9th on lockdown. We went all out for Ohtani so now it’s time to push all the chips forward to the table and go all in.
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I’m with you, Alex. Would love to bring back Ryu for a 1 year deal.
Really doubt that AF is going to sign anyone else who rejected a QO. He’s already lost 2 high draft choices by signing Shohei. If he signs Hader he loses two more. Not likely that he’d do that.
Indians closer Emanuel Clase is supposedly available. He’d come at a high price but maybe worth a look.
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I don’t know if the Dodgers believe in a lock down closer anymore, but if they do choose to go down that road, I could see them trading some more prospects before I see them paying 100 mil to Hader. I would be happy to be wrong, though. Closers can also usually be had at the trade dead line, seems there are always a couple available.
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Dennis, the reason I asked was I was a little shocked that Vivas was the tenth ranked prospect in NY. I didn’t really remember anyone talking about him here, I was wondering was I not paying attention or has the Yankees system been depleted enough that our lower or mid prospects make it in their top ten.
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Can you imagine what Yamamoto’s agent must feel like, he has six or seven big market, deep pocket teams bidding for his player. I don’t remember the last time there were this many teams after a guy, usually by this time in the process there are only two or three teams left in the bidding.
It’s going to be fun watching this unfold, I hope AF is as serious about him as all of the reports indicate, if we don’t get him I’m sure Andrew has a dozen back up plans.
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Andrew may have a dozen back up plans but none of them will likely get us a pitcher as good as Yamamoto.
With the injury histories of Glasnow, Buehler and Kershaw and the relative inexperience of Miller, Sheehan, Grove and Stone (not to mention another three or four guys who haven’t even put on a LA Dodger uniform yet), it would really help if we could get him.
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I agree with you whole heartedly, but after signing Ohtani, and trading for Glasnow, it’s a little hard to believe the other owners will let Andrew pull off signing Yamamoto also. I can see the Mets, Yanks, or Giants throwing a ridiculous number at Yamamoto. I almost feel like I’m being a glutton thinking he could end up with the Dodgers.
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