Shohei Ohtani spurns SF Giants, Blue Jays agrees to $700 million deal with Dodgers
The SF Giants and Toronto Blue Jays have fallen short in their pursuits to sign free agent two-way phenomenon Shohei Ohtani (#1-ranked free agent). As first shared on his Instagram account, Ohtani has made his decision and chosen to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Clearly, Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts' gaffe at the winter meetings did not have an effect on his choice. Ohtani still has to go through a physical process, but it would be highly unlikely for an issue to emerge at this point. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the deal is a record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract that includes significant deferrals.
Ohtani, perhaps the best two-way player to ever wear an MLB jersey, is coming off of his second MVP season in the last three years. He's spent the last six seasons in Major League Baseball, after signing a deal with the Angels in late December of 2018. Originally intending to come to the United States in 2012, directly after his high school education, he ended up staying in Japan to play with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. At that time, the Fighters were willing to let Ohtani both bat and pitch, while the Dodgers, his main suitor, were not.
He debuted at the age of 18 for the Fighters, both pitching and playing right field. Over his five seasons with the fighters he was selected as an All-Star each year, voted Pacific league MVP once, and won a Japan Series (the Nippon Baseball League chmampionship) the same year. Twice he won the Pacific League Pitcher Best Nine award, equivalent to the MLB Gold Glove award. One of those years, he also won the Pacific League Designated Hitter Best Nine award, becoming the first player ever to win both simultaneously.
In 2017, he was posted, and expected to join an MLB team in 2018. Much like in free agency this year, he was courted heavily by West Coast teams. However, without a universal-DH, he also seemed to prefer the American League. This go around, however, the DH is now available in both leagues and Ohtani was seemingly more open to the rest of the country.
In MLB, he has been just as accoladed as he was in Japan. Upon his arrival in the United States, Ohtani racked up a Rookie of the Year award, and would only go on to do more history making things in his six years with the Angels. In 2023, he hit .304/.412/.654 with 44 home runs, and pitched 132 innings with a 3.12 ERA allowing 85 hits and 55 walks. His efforts earned him a Silver Slugger award, an All-Star nod, and his second MVP, unanimous for the second time.
The Dodgers will welcome Ohtani's athleticism, passion, and certainly his added arm to their rotation. But above that, they are sure to appreciate the excitement a player of Ohtani's caliber brings to the fans every day at the ballpark. Giants fans will see plenty of Shohei Ohtani, though not at all in the way they expected.
The SF Giants and Blue Jays, two of the teams who fell short in the sweepstakes, will now have to shift their focus elsewhere. The Giants have been heavily tied to free-agent starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and also could also make a run at offensive upgrades like Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman. Down in Southern California, on the other hand, the Dodgers and their fans can celebrate the biggest free-agent signing in MLB history.
