Shohei Ohtani has announced on his Instagram his intent to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday afternoon. It is an unprecedented amount of money for Ohtani. The Dodgers give Ohtani 10-years, $700 million.
Contract Significance
This salary surpasses the biggest contract in baseball history in total value, surpassing former teammate Mike Trout‘s 12-year, $426.5 million deal in 2019. It also eclipses the largest average annual value of a contract, surpassing Max Scherzer‘s deal of $43,333,333 million per year with the Mets signed in 2021. Additionally, it becomes the biggest contract in sports history, passing Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi’s contract with Spanish club FC Barcelona in 2017, earning him the equivalent of $674 million over four years.
Ohtani
What can’t be said about the “unicorn” of baseball? Among the most outstanding players to play the game, Ohtani’s free agency is the biggest baseball story for the past year and discussed for longer than that. Ohtani’s two-way play is already unparalleled in the modern game, but he is elite in both ways. He gives a team something that no one else in baseball can, an MVP-caliber hitter and pitcher as one player.
Batting
At batting, Ohtani is as good as they come. In 2023, Ohtani slashed.304 (151-for-497)/.412 /.654 with a 1.066 OPS, 184 OPS+, 325 total bases, and 44 home runs. Ohtani led the majors in SLG, OPS, and OPS+ while leading the AL in home runs, total bases, and OBP. He did this all while only batting in 135 games, earning a Silver Slugger Award.
Pitching
Ohtani’s pitching is terrific. In 2023, Ohtani earned a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA, 167 strikeouts, 72 ERA-minus, 4.00 FIP, and 1.061 WHIP across 132 innings. His opponent slash line was .184/.285/.333, vastly better than the AL-average slash line of .245/.317/.410. Although Ohtani’s walk percentage has gone from 6.7% to 10.4%, this shouldn’t be alarming considering his .184 batting average. He sets his team up for incredible success if he can pitch well.
Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers have set themselves up for success over the long term. With a great regular season last year, the Dodgers were on target for a World Series in 2023. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts had historical seasons, with Will Smith and Max Muncy also playing well. After going into the NLDS against the Diamondbacks, the Arizona heat came with the bats, and they swept the Dodgers. With injuries and incidents against the starting pitchers for the Dodgers, their young and acquired pitchers weren’t enough for the Dodgers to be competitive last season.
Now, the Dodgers signed the biggest free agent of the season. They look to bounce back after a disappointing ending to 2023. After undergoing his second Tommy John surgery this past September, Ohtani will fill the DH role for the 2024 season. If everything goes well, Ohtani will pitch again in the 2025 season. The Dodgers are still searching for more starting pitching, with Clayton Kershaw as a free agent and Julio Urias unavailable to pitch after his arrest.
