Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani has finally decided on his next MLB team. The two-time unanimous NL MVP has agreed to a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The deal Ohtani signs represents the richest in MLB history. It shatters the previous record of $426.5 million in guaranteed money that Mike Trout received from the Los Angeles Angels in 2019 and the record for the highest annual average of $43.3 million that Max Scherzer got on his three-year deal with the New York Mets in 2022.
Dodgers still haven’t officially announced the news, but Ohtani confirmed the move in an Instagram post shared on Saturday.
“To all the fans and everyone involved in the baseball world, I apologize for taking so long to come to a decision. I have decided to choose the Dodgers as my next team,” Ohtani wrote in a caption while posting a photo of the Dodgers’ logo.
Shohei Ohtani is coming off a season in which he batted .304, which is his career-best in MLB while hitting 44 homers and adding 95 RBIs. He also had a 10-5 record and posted a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts as a pitcher. He was unanimously voted NL MVP, becoming the first player in MLB history to receive the MVP honor in that manner twice.
Ohtani’s 2023 season on the mound ended prematurely as he was forced to be shut down due to a right elbow injury. He underwent a Tommy John surgery, his second on the same elbow, in September and will not be ready to return to pitching until 2025. However, he is expected to be able to serve as the designated hitter from the Opening Day of the 2024 campaign.
While Ohtani was predicted to be the first $500 million player in MLB history, most analysts believe that teams will vary in signing him to such a significant deal due to his elbow surgery. But that obviously didn’t stop the Dodgers from surpassing even the most outrageous predictions and completely resetting the market for free agents.
Ohtani spent his first six seasons in MLB with the Los Angeles Angels. The 29-year-old player reportedly considered a return to the Angels but was won over by the Dodgers’ huge offer and their ability to consistently make the postseason, something he has never experienced so far in his career in the majors.
