Shohei Ohtani is in the midst of an MVP-caliber season with the Los Angeles Dodgers after joining the team on a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract this past December.
Juan Soto is another big name who changed teams during the offseason as he was traded by the San Diego Padres to the New York Yankees in exchange for a plethora of prospects.
Ohtani and Soto are among the players who will participate in the 2024 MLB All-Star Game at Globe Life Field on Tuesday. They will be on opposing sides, but Soto hopes to eventually play with Ohtani someday.
“Ohtani would’ve been one of the best. Now he went to the NL, I went to the AL, so it’s been a little tricky, but definitely Ohtani would be one of them,” Soto said on All-Star Media Day when asked to name a player he would love to be teammates with.
Like Ohtani, Soto is in the midst of a stellar debut season with the Yankees. However, the 25-year-old could be one-and-done in New York as he is set to become a free agent at the end of the year.
Soto, a client of Scott Boras, is seeking a historic contract that could approach $500 million. The Yankees have made it clear that they would like to retain him, but Soto appears likely to test free agency, which could open the door for other teams to pursue him.
It isn’t clear if the Dodgers will make a play for Soto as they already have so much money tied up to the likes of Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Freddie Freeman.
However, Ohtani’s contract was structured in a way that gives the Dodgers maximum financial flexibility to continue pursuing other stars. And if Soto is adamant on playing with Ohtani, the Dodgers presumably would be glad to accommodate him.
The Shohei Ohtani effect
Soto expressing interest in teaming up with Ohtani is a sentiment that many players share. The two-way star’s presence was a factor in Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Kiké Hernández signing contracts with the Dodgers this past offseason.
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