The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their torrid stretch of additions this offseason, continuing their pursuit to build onto a World Series winning club.
Their 2024 season was jumpstarted with a solid foundation at the top with a front office focused on a common goal. Already powered by stars, the Dodgers added Shohei Ohtani on a historic contract.
Ohtani signed with the Dodgers on a 10-year, $700 million contract, the largest contract in professional sports history at the time. With more than $680 million in deferred money, the team was set up to continue adding on.
In reference to the process itself, Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten has nothing but good words for Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, and how the signing went down, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
“Nez was completely truthful with us every step of the way,” Kasten said. “There’s no reason for him not to have been. He could have driven the contract any way he wanted. And I would have said that even if that plane going to Toronto was really carrying [Ohtani].
“It was all very professional. He said, ‘We want this done quietly. We don’t want it to be a circus.’ So, it was professional, respectful and quiet from both sides.”
Ohtani’s demeanor proved to be in line with his free agency, calm and collected. Once the dark cloud of his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, passed on, the Dodgers and Ohtani took off in the right direction.
Looking around Major League Baseball, negotiations of superstar contracts can be loud from an outside noise perspective. Ohtani and Balelo aimed to keep their dealings and chatter close to the vest.
The Dodgers benefitting from Ohtani’s boost in global attention has made the small rumors that swirled around in his free agency all the more insignificant.
Shohei Ohtani continuing to help Dodgers
Ohtani was named as one of the driving forces in making the signing of Roki Sasaki happen.
Ohtani was in the ear of the Dodgers’ front office, stating his case to add the young phenom to their current roster, as well as making his case to Sasaki on why he should join them. As the biggest star in the sport, he has that level of pull to make that type of plea.
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