Official Shohei Ohtani Thread (Update: Ohtani signs with Dodgers 10 years, $700 million)

[JN]

With the cap hit being $46M, I don't really see much of an issue of cap contravention here.
The way he is being paid, that contract has about the same value as a $460M contract paid at $46M for each of the next 10 years.

I guess the advantage for Ohtani is that once the 10 years is up, he can leave California which might be a way for him to save income taxes. But that's not really a baseball issue.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

Funny how when the NBA players took less money to form superteams, it was despicable, but when it's Ohtani taking less money to join a 100-win team, he's doing everything he can to win and it's good for the sport.

It’s only good if he signed with a small market team and he helped them out the exact same way. This just perpetuates the rich get richer

[Harry Palmer]

Funny how when the NBA players took less money to form superteams, it was despicable, but when it's Ohtani taking less money to join a 100-win team, he's doing everything he can to win and it's good for the sport.

Agree on this. The other part is that before ‘ring chasing’ was the common ‘kids today’ complaint about NBA players, the most common predecessor was, not kidding if you weren’t there…‘they don’t care about winning, only money’. Can’t win for losing.

I will add that when it’s a handful of teams who sign the vast majority of top players there is another problem to address, but it is not Ohtani’s fault nor takes away from his (normally ideal) priorities.

[tecumseh18]

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I just re-watched WOWS, so appreciated this clip. But yeah, in this case, it's legal. And smart.

[Fairview4Life]

Arozarena? Haven't seen that rumour yet.

[dagger]

Arozarena? Haven't seen that rumour yet.

Well, if the Rays are doing a big unloading of MLB talent, at least they seem to be sending it to the NL, just as the Angels did. It somewhat offsets the Soto trade impact on the AL East.

[polo007]

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[Cyrus]

Interesting that othani has an opt out claus if management or ownership changes. But wonder how that works with all that v deferred money he is owed, is he walking away from that, then no chance he's walking away from 680 mil.

If he's getting paid some depending on how long he stays then maybe..

[duppyy]

I hate the dodgers now and hope they don’t achieve anything. Jays might as well drive up the price of Yamamoto for shots and giggles.

[polo007]

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"I certainly didn't wake up that morning and decide I wanted to torpedo my career or certainly anybody else's... Whatever he was feeling Friday morning, it wasn't a done deal. The deal, to whatever extent he was leaning in that direction, was not done... At the end of the day, sometimes reporters just get bad intel. That's the risk we take by attempting to report news in this breaking news environment."

[SharoneWright]

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"I certainly didn't wake up that morning and decide I wanted to torpedo my career or certainly anybody else's... Whatever he was feeling Friday morning, it wasn't a done deal. The deal, to whatever extent he was leaning in that direction, was not done... At the end of the day, sometimes reporters just get bad intel. That's the risk we take by attempting to report news in this breaking news environment."

Not his fault. CAA convinced Dodgers sources to lie. And told Robert Herjavec to take a flight.

[SharoneWright]

Oh, and by the way. All that the deferred money is bonkers.

The MLB has been out in full force for what, 110 years? Maybe.

Who is betting that its going to be a thing 220 years from now? or 80 years from now?

What if there is famine, calamity, war, China invasion, loss of the American dollar as the world reserve currency, etc. etc. etc.

I hope a provision of the contract is that the Dodgers are putting at least $20 million a year away in an account that is bankruptcy protected. Because you can never leave it where the MLB and the Dodgers go under depending on the circumstances of the world in the next 10 years. And you are still owed $1 billion.

This is mostly why lottery winners take the money upfront. Even though the installments are a greater total number. Who can ensure that the Texas lotto or lotto 649 is still solvent in 3 years?

[WuTang_OG]

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"I certainly didn't wake up that morning and decide I wanted to torpedo my career or certainly anybody else's... Whatever he was feeling Friday morning, it wasn't a done deal. The deal, to whatever extent he was leaning in that direction, was not done... At the end of the day, sometimes reporters just get bad intel. That's the risk we take by attempting to report news in this breaking news environment."

Not his fault. CAA convinced Dodgers sources to lie. And told Robert Herjavec to take a flight.

i dont think herjavec was in on it 32 min

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[polo007]

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[And1Skip]

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[polo007]

Inside Shohei Ohtani's $700 million contract with Dodgers - ESPN

So much about Ohtani's proclivities remain a mystery to the general public and, to some extent, even those who shared a clubhouse with him. But his desire to perform at his sport's grandest stage and accumulate championships has long been obvious to those around him. One longtime Angels staffer described it as "almost Kobe-like." Ohtani won the Japan Series with the Fighters in 2016 and has longed to replicate that in the World Series, a yearning that only grew with every disappointing season in Orange County.

Ohtani's performance during Japan's title-winning march through the WBC -- the uplifting pregame speech; the clinching strikeout; the raw, uncharacteristic displays of emotion throughout -- served as the ultimate validation for those who watched him closely in recent years.

The question of how that desire would impact his free agency was answered by the structure of his potential contract. The Dodgers proposed multiple iterations of deals working up toward where they believed Ohtani's would wind up: somewhere in the neighborhood of $600 million guaranteed, nearly $175 million larger than Trout's deal with the Angels. As the total guarantee increased, the Dodgers proposed different structures that would allow them payroll flexibility, including the possibility of deferred money, like in Betts' and Freeman's deals.

One week ago, after meetings with prospective teams had concluded, Ohtani and his CAA agent, Nez Balelo, returned to Friedman with a contract structure unlike any ever seen in professional sports: 10 years, $700 million -- but with $680 million deferred, interest-free, in the 10 years that follow the expiration of the deal, taking the competitive balance tax (CBT) hit from $70 million a year to just $46 million.

"I wouldn't have had the guts to propose it," Friedman said.

Said Ohtani, through his interpreter: "I was looking into it, did some calculations, and I figured if I can defer as much money as I can, if that's going to help the CBT, it's going to help the Dodgers to be able to sign other players and make a better team. I felt like that was worth it."

The structure triggered a quick approval from the Dodgers. Unbeknownst to them, Balelo then proposed the same deal to at least three other teams. The San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays agreed to the terms. The Angels, Ohtani's original major league team, were also given a chance, but sources said they ultimately declined.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, came away from their Friday morning conversation believing they were in good standing. Then, about 30 minutes later, social media left them wondering whether their third time pursuing Ohtani wasn't the charm after all.

[polo007]

Exclusive: Shohei Ohtani's agent provides inside look at historic contract negotiations - USA Today

Agent rips 'reckless reporting' about Blue Jays

If there’s a precedent to be made, says Nez Balelo, co-head of baseball at CAA Sports, it may be how he conducted negotiations with teams. The entire process was cloaked in secrecy, frustrating reporters, and leading to a series of erroneous reports a week ago that Ohtani was signing with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“I felt really, really bad for the country of Canada,’’ Balelo said. “And I felt really, really bad for the Toronto Blue Jays organization. They are really good people. What they had to endure, and the pain, wasn't right. I felt so bad for all of them that they had to go through that because it was the extreme emotional roller coaster of thinking that they had him and then finding out they didn't.

“That was about the most reckless reporting I've ever experienced in this game."

The false reports provoked several teams to frantically call Balelo to see exactly what was true. The Dodgers knew the reports were false because Balelo had asked them earlier in the day, according to Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, if they would be willing to meet the request of the 10-year, $700 million contract with $680 million deferred. The Blue Jays knew Ohtani wasn’t on a plane to Toronto because nothing was scheduled. And certainly, they were well aware that Ohtani has not reached an agreement with them.

Balelo met with Ohtani at 5 p.m. at his home Friday when Ohtani informed him that he wanted to sign with the Dodgers. It was no surprise to Balelo. The Dodgers were always at the forefront in talks. They even laughed at the uproar caused when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts candidly revealed at the winter meetings that the Dodgers and Ohtani had a private meeting at Dodger Stadium, remembering a published report that anything coming publicly from a team would be used against them.

“That was ridiculous,’’ Balelo said. “Those words never came out of my mouth. Doc swallowed an honest pill that day. There was nothing wrong with it at all.’’

“As you can see, it sure didn’t have an effect, did it?’’

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Shohei Ohtani's agent Nez Balelo explains free agency process, media access & more

Dodger Blue

December 16, 2023

Nez Balelo of Creative Artists Agency discussed Shohei Ohtani's free agency process, decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers and more.

[Fairview4Life]

Instead of feeling bad about reckless reporting he could have just gone on the record with a reporter saying Ohtani wasn’t on the plane and hadn’t made a decision yet.

[duppyy]

Instead of feeling bad about reckless reporting he could have just gone on the record with a reporter saying Ohtani wasn’t on the plane and hadn’t made a decision yet.

Yes it would just take one tweet the morning of saying he’s not flying out to Toronto on any plane. They probbaly used it to their advantage or were having a blast watching all of it unfold.

[Cyrus]

Why didn't the jays as well state they weren't aware of Othani being on the plane, or meeting scheduled, lol..