Shohei Ohtani, baseball’s top free agent and the sport’s first true two-way star since Babe Ruth, has agreed to join the Los Angeles Dodgers on a record 10-year, $700 million deal.
Ohtani made the announcement on Instagram on Saturday and ESPN reports the deal is worth $700m across a decade.
It’s a new record deal for MLB – shattering the total paid by his old team, the Los Angeles Angels, to Mike Trout in 2019, which was worth $426.5m. Mookie Betts, Ohtani’s new Dodgers teammate, has a $365m contract while Aaron Judge with the Yankees is now fourth on the all-time list at $360m.
Ohtani’s average annual salary comes in at $70 million, easily surpassing the currently leaders: Texas Rangers hurler Max Scherzer and Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, both of whom will make $43.3 million in 2024.
He hit 44 home runs for the Angels last year with a career-high 1.066 OPS, not to mention his 3.14 earned-run average and minuscule 1.06 WHIP (walks and hits per inning) on the mound. However, Ohtani will be relegated to a designated hitter role for the Dodgers in 2024 following offseason elbow surgery – his second Tommy John procedure.
Ohtani, 29, hit 44 home runs last season but in 2024, will not able to pitch for the Dodgers
‘To all Dodgers fans, I pledge to always do what’s best for the team and always continue to give it my all to be the best version of myself,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘Until the last day of my career, I want to continue to strive forward not only for the Dodgers but for the baseball world.’
Ohtani also addressed the Los Angeles Angels, the team he has departed.
‘I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone involved with the Angels organization and the fans who have supported me over the last six years, as well as to everyone involved with each team that was part of this negotiation process,’ he said.
‘Especially to the Angels fans who supported me through all the ups and downs, your guys’ support and cheer meant the world to me.
‘The six years I spent with the Angels will remain etched in my heart forever. Thank you very, very much.’
Ohtani said he would address more thoughts about his blockbuster move at a later press conference.
The Japanese star had been linked to a number of teams across Major League Baseball, including the Blue Jays and the Cubs.
He ad a 3.14 earned-run average and minuscule 1.06 WHIP in 2023, but is coming off surgery
But his mega-deal with the Dodgers comes even though he will not be pitching in the 2024 season after undergoing surgery on his throwing elbow.
He had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in September, with the operation performed by Dr Neal ElAttrache – the same surgeon who operated on Aaron Rodgers’ torn Achilles.
It is the second time Ohtani has had the operation – the first was carried out on October 1 2018.
And even when Ohtani returns from the elbow procedure, which isn’t expected to be until 2025 at the earliest, there remains concern about his future as a pitcher.
Only a handful of hurlers have successfully returned from two Tommy John surgeries, although that list includes the Texas Rangers‘ Nathan Eovaldi, who has won a pair of World Series titles since his second TJ procedure in 2016.
Speaking of the Dodgers, manager Dave Roberts now has three former MVPs atop his order with Ohtani, the reigning AL winner, as well as former AL winner in Betts and the 2020 NL MVP, Freddie Freeman.
Ohtani joins a lineup that already has two of MLB’s best bats: Betts (left) and Freeman (right)
Manager Dave Roberts’ manager now boasts three MVPs atop his batting order
Ohtani’s decision to join the Dodgers came as a surprise to some following reporting that the Blue Jays were in the lead for his services.
Sources told Mail Sport that was the case earlier this week before reports surfaced on Friday night that Ohtani was on a private jet to Toronto.
With MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reporting that the former Los Angeles Angels star was flying in southern California, Blue Jays fans began tracking private jets in hopes of pinpointing Ohtani’s exact location.
One flight in particular seemed destined to be carrying Ohtani after originating in Anaheim – the city Ohtani played in for the last six years.
But soon thereafter, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman both reported that Ohtani never left his southern California home.
Ultimately, CBC photographer Evan Mitsui confirmed that the private plane wasn’t flying Ohtani to Toronto, but rather Canadian businessman and Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec.
In what must have been a first for both men, Shohei Ohtani was mistaken for Robert Herjavec
Is the Drake curse real? The Toronto-born rapper appeared in an Ohtani jersey the other day
The Founder and CEO of global cybersecurity firm Cyderes did have some fun with the confusion by reposting NFL Network’s Rich Eisen’s playful message on Friday evening.
‘To everyone hoping to spot Ohtani,’ read Eisen’s post on X, showing a smiling Herjavec waving to a Shark Tank contestant.
Others poked fun at the situation as well, but none better than Merriam-Webster, which confirmed that Ohtani is ‘not’ in the company’s ‘citation archives.’
Naturally, Blue Jays fans were crushed by Saturday’s news, with several blaming Toronto-born rapper Drake for posting a shot of himself wearing an Ohtani jersey. (Drake is widely believed to carry a curse, resulting in the misfortune of whichever team or athlete he happens to be supporting)
