At just 29 years of age, Shohei Ohtani was the most sought-after MLB player this offseason because of the incredible talent he possesses in pitching and hitting. His last three seasons of greatness culminated in him receiving a record-breaking $700 million contract over the next 10 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. For context, the highest-paid contract before this was a 12-year $426.5 million deal given to his former teammate Mike Trout.
Ohtani earned this massive contract because he was the American League MVP during the 2021 and 2023 seasons, while also finishing as the MVP runner-up to Aaron Judge in 2022. Additionally, Ohtani finished 4th place in votes for the American League Cy Young Award in 2022, which showcased his pitching prowess.
During his 2021 MVP season, Ohtani led the American League in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) with 9. He led that statistic again in 2023 with 10.1, even though his season was cut short due to an elbow injury.
His injury occurred while pitching during a game in late August, and it was known that he could not pitch for the rest of the season. He tried to play as the designated hitter over the next couple of weeks, but he eventually focused on healing the injury due to the Los Angeles Angels being eliminated from playoff contention.
Despite missing the final month of the season in 2023, Ohtani was so dominant across the board that he still won the MVP Award. He finished his 2023 campaign with comparable stats to his 2021 season, but he had greatly improved his batting average and on-base plus slugging percentage. This drastic improvement made it obvious that he was the best player in the American League and arguably all of baseball.
Although Ohtani will be unable to pitch until the 2025 MLB season, he will still be able to showcase his hitting ability as the designated hitter for the L.A. Dodgers throughout 2024.
It is important to note that the L.A. Dodgers also signed coveted pitching prospect Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a $325 million contract over the next 12 years. Yamamoto will be a rookie in 2024, as he was signed from Nippon Professional Baseball, which is Japan’s highest-level baseball league.
Yamamoto and Ohtani were teammates during the World Baseball Classic in 2023, as they aided Team Japan in winning the tournament. The L.A. Dodgers signing Ohtani will help ease the transition from Japan to America for Yamamoto, which could be imperative for the upcoming season.
These two offseason moves have led to many fans believing that the L.A. Dodgers should win the World Series multiple times over the next decade, as their roster continues to accumulate superstar talent.