It’s no longer the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, it’s the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ohtani.
Japanese pitcher Shohei Ohtani, 29, a free agent from the Angels, will wear Dodger blue for the highest price in North American sports history.
“Ohtani has agreed to a 10-year, $700 million (92.4 billion won) contract with the Dodgers,” ESPN and other U.S.
media reported on Tuesday (KST). Ohtani also made the deal official by writing “LA” in Dodger blue on his personal SNS.
According to MLB.com, Ohtani’s contract is the largest in North American sports history, surpassing that of former Angels teammate Mike Trout
(12 years, $426.5 million) and NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes (10 years, $450 million).
In terms of total value alone, it surpasses Lionel Messi’s contract with FC Barcelona ($674 million from 2017-2021).
The two-handed slugger came to the US Major Leagues in 2018 from the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Nippon Ham Fighters.
He won the American League Rookie of the Year award with the Angels before missing 2019 with Tommy John surgery (ligament splicing).
In 2020, he was limited to just two starts due to a right forearm flexor injury.
But in 2021, he was unanimously named the American League’s Most Valuable Player (MVP)
after hitting 46 home runs with a .965 OPS as a designated hitter and posting a 3.18 ERA with 156 strikeouts on the mound.
In 2022, he pitched 166 innings on the mound with 219 strikeouts and a 2.33 ERA.
He also hit 34 home runs and had an OPS of 0.875 as a designated hitter, but lost the MVP award to Aaron Judge (New York Yankees), who hit 62 home runs on the season.
Ohtani, who helped Japan win the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and was named the tournament’s MVP, had a 44-homer year with a 1.066 OPS and a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts despite having his season cut short in September due to an elbow injury.
The 10-win, 40-homer mark is a first in major league history.
He was again unanimously voted the American League MVP, the first time a player has been unanimously voted league MVP twice.
In a personal social media post, Ohtani said, “
The support of the Angels fans has meant everything to me.
The six years I spent with the Angels will forever be etched in my heart.”
“To all Dodgers fans, I promise that I will always do my best for the team and always do my best to be the best version of myself.
Until the last day of my career,
I will continue to strive to serve not only the Dodgers, but the game of baseball.”
Ohtani, who is rehabbing from a second ligament splicing surgery, will serve as a designated hitter for the 2024 season.
He hopes to return to the mound in 2025.
The details of the deal are not known, but American media outlets such as
The Athletic speculate that the Dodgers and Ohtani may have worked out a deferred payment arrangement, similar to Mookie Betts’.온라인카지노
This is because of the salary cap balance tax.
Betts previously signed a 12-year, $365 million deal with the Dodgers, with $115 million coming after the end of the contract.
A deferred payment deal like Betts’ was reportedly first proposed by Ohtani, who is said to have a strong desire to win.
The Dodgers have finished first in the National League West in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
They have won 100 or more games in five of the last six seasons and won the World Series in 2020.
In his six years in the majors, Ohtani has never made the postseason, let alone the World Series.
Ohtani will be joined by Betts and Freddie Freeman to form a top-of-the-order lineup.
Betts was the 2018 American League MVP and Freeman was the 2020 National League MVP.
Dodgers closer Evan Phillips appeared on local radio earlier in the day and said, “Our team group chat room went crazy. “
What Ohtani has done over the last couple years is unprecedented in the history of baseball,
and we’re really excited to have him on our side for 10 years,” he said.
The Dodgers’ signing of Ohtani is sure to be a marketing boon.
