Shohei Ohtani May Have Changed the MLB Forever With Autonomy in Dodgers Organization

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the hunt for several big-name free agent bats, like shortstop Bo Bichette and outfielder Kyle Tucker, and they're even being linked to a trade for Detroit Tigers lefty ace Tarik Skubal.

As The New York Post's Dylan Hernandez points out, pressure from star DH/pitcher Shohei Ohtani, who Hernandez calls "more like a partner" than an employee, is the reason the Dodgers have become an unstoppable force on the field and off of it.

"(Acquiring Bichette, Tucker, and Skubal) is the vision," Hernandez prefaced before saying, "More specifically, this was the vision Shohei Ohtani shared with the Dodgers when he signed with them two winters ago.

"Ohtani is technically an employee of the Dodgers, but in reality he’s more like a partner."

GM Andrew Friedman has bent to his will, but it's because Ohtani deferred $680 million of his $700 million contract so he can play with an elite supporting cast.

The results speak for themselves. Friedman is the modern-day Ed Barrow, throwing millions, or in the former's case, billions, to build a Murderer's Row around a dominant two-way lefty who bashes home runs and launches powerful, nasty stuff from the mound.

With two consecutive World Series titles in tow and a potential third on the way following what figures to be another explosive winter transaction-wise from the biggest headline-grabbers in sports, LA is being successfully run by its player-owner.

MLB Stars Will Have More Power in the Future Because of Shohei Ohtani

Will more MLB franchises attempt to follow suit, allowing a generational talent to dictate their decisions in exchange for a financially relieving loophole? Probably.

Who wouldn't want similar results to the Dodgers? Who wouldn't want their own version of Ohtani, even if no pitchers on anyone's radar have the hitting ability he has?

Of course, no team will actually land the next Ohtani. No one around the world is emerging as a talent with that high a ceiling. Still, the idea of having a player who can change the culture from a winning one to one that doesn't accept losing is a tantalizing prospect for every team.

Ohtani is a player to be emulated, even if no knock-off could come close to the original.

The rat race for the 29 other franchises is on. Nippon Professional Baseball, the league from which Ohtani came, is seeing more free agents posted than ever.

The way teams view winning has changed. Ohtani will empower players, not owners, and not all of them, to be clear, to run the show.

We'll see who that works for over time.