Shohei Ohtani announced never to play in Los Angeles Dodgers again
Shohei Ohtani announced never to play in Los Angeles Dodgers again
Shohei Ohtani and LA Dodgers record deal ‘not yet official’ as details still to be worked out
The LA Dodgers and Ohtani still need to iron out some contract details
The world of MLB was stunned into silence after Shohei Ohtani himself announced via social media that he had chosen the Los Angeles Dodgers as his new team – just a day after an erroneous leak claimed that he would sign with the Toronto Blue Jays.
It is widely reported that the Dodgers have offered him a 10-year deal worth $700 million – the largest contract in the history of American sports by some margin – with various deferrals and get-out clauses.
However, Dodgers fans still can’t claim victory over the Blue Jays just yet.
Details missing from Ohtani deal
According to information from Ken Rosenthal and Andy McCullough of The Athletic, the Dodgers have not yet made the Ohtani deal official because the Japanese is yet to pass his medical exam, with team officials refusing to comment on the matter when pressed for an update on the signing.7
In addition to this, there are still a number of outstanding issues which need to be ironed out in order for the deal to become official.
This includes freeing up a 40-man roster space to add Shohei Ohtani to the active list and the Dodgers would also need to announce how much of the contract money would be deferred and for how long, thus adjusting the payroll and luxury tax.
Will there be a repeat of Carlos Correa?
Aside from the financial implications involved, it is important that Ohtani passes his medical exam for two reasons.
The first is that the Japanese underwent a procedure on ligaments in his pitching elbow that was not announced – known in the baseball world as a Tommy John – that will leave him without pitching until 2025.
The second is Carlos Correa’s history last year. The Puerto Rican failed two physicals with the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets respectively, which caused his deals – which had already been announced by the media – to fall through and fail to materialize – resulting in him later signing with the Minnesota Twins.
