With Shohei Ohtani now officially a member of the Dodgers and in possession of a record-setting 10-year, $700MM contract, agent Nez Balelo pulled back the curtain a bit on Ohtani’s very secretive free agent explorations in an interview with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
The purposeful lack of direct information about the Ohtani sweepstakes only added to the firestorm of media speculation about where the two-way superstar might land, and the tight hand that Balelo reportedly kept on the proceedings drew some criticism for its perceived over-the-top nature. However, the CAA agent unsurprisingly didn’t have any regrets about the tactics.
“I’m so glad we did it this way, and I would do the same thing over and over again. There’s not even a question in my mind,” Balelo said. “The clubs appreciated it and respected it. There wasn’t a team that said, ’You know what, let’s just get this out.’ Shohei and I wanted to be able to control the narrative, and teams were on board with it. I heard that some media members felt that I needed to share information because this is a historical moment, but I 100% disagree. I can’t even begin to even think how that makes sense. There has to be a level of confidentiality….This was arguably the most highly exposed free agent ever on the market, and ultimately, I got the best result. So how can you judge and criticize the way that I approached this?“
That said, Balelo also seemed to push back against reports that suggested any public acknowledgement by a team of its interest in Ohtani could or would detract from the team’s chances. “That was ridiculous. Those words never came out of my mouth,” Balelo said, pointing out that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ admission at the Winter Meetings that L.A. was in on Ohtani “sure didn’t have an effect, did it?”
Ohtani said during Spring Training that he wanted to test free agency and not discuss an extension with the Angels during the season, allowing Balelo and the CAA team to craft “a well thought-out approach” months in advance of Ohtani’s official entry into the market. Balelo met with executives from several teams during the GM Meetings, which the agent viewed as “a good gauge of where the interest level was, to understand who was serious, and who really who was just kicking the tires. There were a lot of teams that weren’t going to be in play because of the level of [money] where they all felt this was going to go. So that that pretty much eliminated half the field.”
As more and more teams fell out of the race, the five finalists were the Dodgers, Angels, Giants, Cubs, and Blue Jays. “The Dodgers were always at the forefront in talks,” Nightengale writes, and Balelo similarly wasn’t surprised when Ohtani informed his agent late in the afternoon on December 8 that he had decided to sign with Los Angeles.
This happened to be the same day that multiple reports suggested Ohtani had agreed to a deal with the Jays, and was en route to Toronto in a private jet. Balelo described the situation as “about the most reckless reporting I’ve ever experienced in this game,” as “I felt really, really bad for the country of Canada. 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.”
The Dodgers weren’t officially told Ohtani’s decision until the next day, and Balelo then called the Jays, Giants, Cubs, and Angels in turn to also break the news before Ohtani officially announced his choice via Instagram. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman already had some inkling of Ohtani’s choice on December 8 when Balelo inquired whether the Dodgers would agree to Ohtani’s desire to defer the vast majority of his $700MM deal until 2034 and beyond. This offer was already on the table, so the Dodgers made no late increase to convince Ohtani to sign.
Though deferrals have been a common part of baseball contracts for years, Ohtani’s choice to defer $680MM of his salary drew almost as many headlines as his decision itself. In discussing the deferred money, Balelo noted that Ohtani is “in such a unique position because he’s going to make so much money off the field….Basically, he’s in the most unique position of any player in the history of the game to be able to do this. It’s not like we’re setting a precedent that every player now is going to defer everything out in his contract.”
With Ohtani’s deferrals lowering his luxury tax hit to $46MM (rather than $70MM) per season, the Dodgers will very significantly benefit from a Competitive Balance Tax standpoint, and Ohtani will cost himself some overall money due to inflation and the value of money today against money earned in a decade’s time. Balelo described Ohtani’s decision as “the most incredible act of unselfishness and willingness to win that I’ve ever experienced in my life, or ever will. He did not care at all about the present value inflation. And you know what, neither did I. He should be praised for this. He did not want to handcuff a team with his salary. He said, ’How can I contribute to a team and allow them to stay competitive?’ So he took the most unselfish approach possible and deferred everything.”
99CaptainJudge99
Mr. Ohtani has all the power.
Fever Pitch Guy
Captain – That’s the way it SHOULD be.
The media should never have all the power. Why give them any information when they will likely twist and distort it anyway?
I hope the MLBTR staff takes the below quote to heart. I love this place, but they definitely contributed to the reckless reporting by dedicating an article to it here. The blogger they quoted went too far. He presented the Jays story as fact with no evidence and no sources named, instead of as speculation which is how it SHOULD have been presented. Hopefully MLBTR has learned from it.
“about the most reckless reporting I’ve ever experienced in this game,” as “I felt really, really bad for the country of Canada. 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.”
mlb fan
“The media should never have all the power”..The establishment ‘Big Brother’ MSM gets mad when they don’t dictate the terms of every single facet of America’s thoughts and life.
PoisonedPens
MLB media for the most part is no longer Mainstream Media. The New York Times, for example, barely covers baseball since they axed Tyler Kempner. None of the big “insiders” are vetted the way a reporter for a large newspaper would be (or would have been back in the day)
Fever Pitch Guy
Poison – Very true.
I grew up with the Boston Globe’s Peter Gammons, he was both classy and credible.
Now in his place is Peter Abraham, the guy who said the Red Sox had “momentum” in signing Xander …. which turned out to be a complete fabrication.
There is very little integrity remaining in baseball reporting.
PoisonedPens
To be fair, the few remaining newspaper beat writers are in competition with the “insiders”, most of whom are de-coupled from editorial oversight in favor of speed Tweeting. In the time it takes to vet a rumor, somebody else is reporting it as fact, and then you’re scooped.
clrrogers
You realize that RUMORS is literally in the name of this site, right?
Fever Pitch Guy
clrr – You realize there’s a difference between that Dodgers blogger reporting something as rumor/speculation and reporting it as fact, right?
Here, I’ll spell it out for you:
REPORTING AS RUMOR: “Some people think Ohtani will sign with the Jays”.
REPORTING AS FACT: “Ohtani has decided to sign with the Jays”.
Considering Ohtani and his agent made it very clear from the beginning that Ohtani would be the one to publicly announce his decision when he made it, those who decided a Dodgers fan website would somehow get that decision first obviously didn’t use good judgement.
avenger65
Fever: I know I’m cynical about some things, but I just wonder why Jays fans, and even the FO, didn’t know that Ohtani was using them as leverage to get the contract he wanted from the Dodgers. That’s where he wanted to go all along. The FO might have known Ohtani’s preference was LA, but I give them credit for doing whatever they could to sign him. The ones that are disappointed were the fans, the ones who believed their team had a chance Ohtani is already filthy rich. Why he wanted to get 700m instead of a paltry $500m, only he knows.
avenger65
Fever: I used to be part of the media. One day, as I was nodding off during a basketball game, it dawned on me what the word “media” meant. It means “down the middle.” Don’t take sides, don’t favor one team or one player, which is exactly what they do. They think that’s what we want to hear. I don’t want to have my TV show interrupted every time Judge blows his nose. I could care less about every aspect of Ohtani’s life and the details of his contract. I don’t want a member of the media not voting for a player for the HOF because he was a little irritable during an interview due to factors that likely have nothing to do with the interviewer. Because of that, he’ll have to wait years for the Veterans Committee to have a shot at the HOF or the Cy Young. It brings me back to Hank Aaron, who missed by one vote of being voted into the HOF unanimously. One member of the media whose sole decision not to vote in one of the greatest of all time, the all time home run leader, just to get attention. Too bad no one remembers his name without looking it up. Players should be the ones voting for their peers, not media members who are too biased and have their own agenda when called on to do what they shouldn’t be doing at all.
Citizen1
The way it should be and how it’s taught but isn’t practiced at all. Sportswriters always had more criticism and leeway.
SoCalBrave
@avenger65 Media comes from the word Medium, which is a means of expression or communication.
nukeg
Man I love reading about the same sh$t over and over. Or not reading I should say. Turn the page MLBTR.
Fever Pitch Guy
nuke – As long as people want to continue reading and talking about Ohtani, they are doing the smart thing by continuing to put out Ohtani articles.
avenger65
And, really, you can’t blame MLBTR for writing a lot about Ohtani. They didn’t make the news, but the biggest news in the sports world right now is Ohtani. Like it or not, MLBTR is only doing their job. Luckily, we have the option to read it or not. If you don’t want to read about him, just scroll on by and see which guy no one’s ever heard of signed a minor league contract.
CaseyAbell
Sports agent: “My client is a saint. Let’s canonize him right now. Any questions?”
iknoweverythingesq
Gloria Doyers, et Ohtani, et Spiritui Friedman.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
avenger65
Iknow: Are you a pharmacist?
randomperson
I have a hard time calling anyone “unselfish” because $68 million dollars will be worth a little less in 10 years
Dock_Elvis
@random. No way in hell I’d have let them off without interest at least covering inflation. Of you don’t really want the money. There’s so many great things could be done with it. I know this was a 700M deal..but he’s worth billions to the Dodgers.
mlb fan
“Or you don’t really want the money”..Ohtani has come to the realization that he’ll have more money than he’ll ever need, but has decided that he doesn’t need more money than God.
Dock_Elvis
I was trying to type IF. And yeah, an extra 5 million wound be a nice donation to any charitable cause.
I hope California gets their deferred taxes too. Could have used them now. Not sure if I had crumbling schools if I’d be super happy. Everything got devalued but the Dodgers as an entity.
Dude….he got 700M. Let’s not act like he was accepting league minimum here.
SJG
They have money to blow on so many other idiotic things. If someone really cared about schools, they’d have been fixed awhile ago.
Don’t even attempt to cry poor for California.
desertball
Exactly. Never thought I’d see someone complain about a ball player and how “so much good could be done with that money”. STFU and grow up a little bit.
cencal
Reddit bro. They will welcome you with open arms.
Dock_Elvis
SjH… Cool. You’re the California gate keeper. Strawman the hell out of another comment. This is one particular situation
Dock_Elvis
Desertball…oh lord. Never thought youd see. I forgot hot dik-ish this section is..so why I generally stay away. Check one ofc your list Gatekeeping mother fker.
avenger65
SJG: Giving money to schools might not be his thing. I’m sure he donates a lot of money if only for tax purposes. Even as wealthy as he is, you can’t giv money to everyone.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Interest would defeat the purpose of his deferrals and increase his AAV. Since that money will be going into escrow, Ohtani can easily get a cheap leveraged loan to invest and make up the interest he gave up. Obv. there is risk but his annual endorsements money can help mitigate it.
Dock_Elvis
He 100% doesn’t need the interest. My question is if California will go after their back income tax in 10 years. My wife is a CPA and says th3y probably will since it was earned in the state.
lasershow45
Part of it, I’m assuming here, may have to do with the players union, established contracts used as benchmarks for the next guy. I’ve seen players in the past talk about setting the market for the next guy. 700 is a ton of money, but what was he supposed to do? “No thanks, I’ll only play for the league minimum”? That would never be accepted by the MLBPA.
Catuli Carl
Nez Balelo sounds like the name of some Star Wars villain you’d find at the Mos Eisley cantina.
KingSall77
Lol
James Midway
Nez shot first
Dock_Elvis
Balelo has some endorphins pumping in that that interview.
YankeesBleacherCreature
He did just scored the biggest contract in sports history.
Dock_Elvis
Are you sure?
Tigers3232
He did by the overall #. In reality he did not score the biggest contract ever and was not going to. That is presumably why they structured the contract the way they did. Now they can sensationalized it and it bolsters Ohtani’s aura and makes him even more marketable.
LordD99
Balelo speaks to handpicked media member for self-serving article. He’s disingenuous suggesting half the teams fell out quickly because of money, failing to note that the wealthiest east coast teams didn’t fall out at all. They weren’t invited. His Kremlin-like lockdown on media is what led to the rumors. He somehow makes Boras seem genuine. Okay, maybe that’s a bit too far!
mlb fan
“He somehow makes Boras seem genuine”..A lot of animus towards the Ohtani camp, mainly for being the ones holding all the leverage and power in contract negotiations. Why do people prefer that teams or the MSM have all the power and leverage?
Yankee Clipper
MLB: I’m pretty certain that part was in jest….. actually, I’m 100% certain.
LordD99
Clipper, of course.
Fever Pitch Guy
Lord – Why do you think Moreno wasn’t willing to match the offer Ohtani accepted from the Dodgers? That’s the part that surprises me.
I figured Moreno would match any offer from the Dodgers, and Ohtani would still choose the Dodgers because their much larger revenue stream allows them to be more competitive for the next decade.
Dock_Elvis
He screwed the California out of 10 years of deferred income tax at minimum. People can cheer that if they like. Rich get richer.
PoisonedPens
Well, Balelo also screwed himself then, because an agent doesn’t get his commission on deferred income until the checks are written.
Dock_Elvis
None of these people are hurting for money. They’re capable of kicking tax dodge cans.
Fever Pitch Guy
Dock – Considering how much taxpayer money Cali wastes, it’s hard for me to feel sorry for that state getting screwed by Ohtani’s deferral decision.
And the revenue Ohtani generates in many ways for that state more than makes up for the lost state income tax.
Ezpkns34
Sounding like a child who was told no because a player signed with a different team isn’t a good look for an adult
desertball
Best comment so far
cencal
Nobody is obligated to invite anyone to the party. Ohtani has been around long enough to know what he wanted and what he didn’t. He didn’t want the NY teams. He didn’t want Boston. So what.
He can choose where he wants to work just as you can and I can.
What led to the rumors wasn’t a “kremlin like lockdown” it was his desire to keep a semblance of privacy and not be a circus. If media members shot their mouths off to appear to be in the game, then that isn’t Ohtani’s fault in the least.
Nobody owes you or I an update to what is happening in their lives personally or professionally. Someone that you don’t know, and will never know, even less so.
Get over yourself. It’s honestly refreshing to have someone like Ohtani just want to do the business part as low-key as possible with a talent like him.
rondon
That’s all well and good. Just don’t ask me to swallow that agent BS that’s been spun into some kind of ‘noble’ effort on his part.
cencal
Did someone ask you to swallow?
Well then………
One Bite Hotdog
Of course he wouldn’t do it any other way. He/they (agency) had control of the narrative, avoiding being lost in a sea of narratives. This allowed fine-tuning and upping the anti with minimal obstacles.
dirtyjog
At least it’s a 10-year deal so we don’t have to listen to this guy give another interview for a while
Joeydonuts
Lmao.
It never was a 700 million contract.
It is a 460 million contract
There is no luxury tax or cash flow savings because the 700 million figure is fiction.
PoisonedPens
Yes and no, It’s locked in money put into escrow every season at a pre-determined and negotiated compound interest rate. The fiction of the story is the “no interest” part.
Tigers3232
@poisoned, the no interest is in reference to the team usually having to pay interest over and above that required to fund the accruing $. The interest being paid is by a 3rd party holding deferred $, not the Dodgers.
Had the Dodgers agreed to interest, they’d likely have wanted a lower #. That would not have put Ohtani above Ronaldo for kind of having the largest sports contract ever.
LordD99
Fans seem to be ignoring this, suggesting Ohtani is financially naive not understanding the devaluation of a dollar over time. No, he fully understands it, hence his 10/460 was turned into what amounts to a backloaded 20/700. In the process, he’ll also have the opportunity to potentially reduce future taxes depending on where he calls home. He has financial advisors.
norcalblue
Agree Joeydonuts. You just can’t convince me that the number didn’t change when the deferrals kicked in. That’s malpractice on the agent’s part if it is in fact, the case.
agentx
I don’t believe the number ever changed, norcalblue.
Before free agency even began, many reports (and fans) assumed that Ohtani would eclipse $500MM. It’s clear at the contract’s present value of 10/460 that Ohtani ultimately would not eclipse that $500MM mark.
At whatever point Balelo and Ohtani first discussed deferrals with one another, I suspect one aim was to ensure the reported number would obliterate that last record. It was up to Ohtani what percentage of the deal he chose to defer to give him and his camp that nice big number.
Most Powerball winners take the lump sum, which according to a 2022 Forbes article was then approximately $497MM on a $1B Powerball jackpot.
Powerball officials market such a win as a $1B jackpot, just like Balelo and CAA successfully marketed Ohtani’s $460MM deal as a $700MM contract.
norcalblue
So, agentx, I just wanna be clear on what I think you’re saying. Perhaps I’m misunderstanding you. I’m hearing you to say that the Dodger’s offer was $700 million for 10 years beginning in 2024? In effect, $70 million per year, fully paid in equal amounts over the 10 year contract.? And then, Shohei magnanimously said I only want $20 million over the 10 years of the contract and I wanted to defer the remaining $680 million until 2034-2044?
KP23
Per Passan:
*”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.”
There were 2 teams in addition offering 700… Let’s get rid of this narrative
DugoutJester
Nez should be a politician with that statement…
Yankee Clipper
I think what made this exponentially worse for the Blue Jays fans was the fact many took to social media and were acting like WS champs before they even knew a deal was done. That’s a tough pill to swallow after you start calling out other teams and claiming the ‘24 title. The worst part was that it happened back-to-back (Soto as well).
178iq
Surgery will limit him.
Bigtimeyankeefan
Perhaps maybe it’s because if he lives in Japan post career he won’t have to pay the taxes on it?
Yankee Clipper
He will have to pay federal taxes and whatever taxes the Empire determines he will pay.
Joeydonuts
Taxes in Japan are 10% local, 45% federal. Flat, not marginal.
Bigtimeyankeefan
Foreign income tax exclusion would give Ohtani any taxes back that he pays on the deferrals I believe
OhioDodger
AF got played like a cheap fiddle.
YankeesBleacherCreature
SFG made the same matching offer.
Unclemike1526
It’s over. Unless you live in LA you don’t give a crap anymore.
bestone
Opening the kimono at this point is damage control. If he had signed the same deal with a small market club or one that has been at the bottom for the last decade (instead of going to a “fat” team) he would be getting “the love”. Helping to build a team from nothing would truly show his value to the world of baseball…but then again…he had that opportunity already where he was….just sayin’.
Fernando P
“ With Ohtani’s deferrals lowering his luxury tax hit to $46MM (rather than $70MM) per season, the Dodgers will very significantly benefit from a Competitive Balance Tax standpoint, and Ohtani will cost himself some overall money due to inflation and the value of money today against money earned in a decade’s time”
That clearly seems to say the Dodgers benefitted by the deferrals.
WCSoxFan
It does, but it’s ignorant/unethical journalism.
Ohtani may lose a very small amount of money, but only if the Dodgers investing his 44mil/yr make a profit above the agreed upon rate (which is likely). The Dodgers have to put ~44mil in an account each year (68mil minus 5% compound interest).
Essentially the Dodgers are acting like a long term bond holder providing 5% YOY interest, which is better than what you or I could get, but is likely slightly less than Ohtani could get if he invested well.
But as noted by others, Ohtani may benefit greatly by Dodging the income taxes. The only gimmick here seems to be possible tax evasion.
Fever Pitch Guy
Nando – Not sure who wrote that article as you didn’t provide a source, but it’s bad writing.
The Dodgers are benefiting with a $46M annual CBT hit instead of a $70M annual CBT hit, but here’s the thing …. it was never, EVER gonna be a $700M contract without deferrals.
There were only two choices:
$700M contract with $680M of it deferred until 2034-2043
OR
$460M contract with zero deferred
Surely you realize no team would have paid Ohtani $70M a year from 2024-2033 …. right?
KP23
Fever Pitch Guy-
What’s the benefit in keeping up smoke and mirrors at this point?
I mean, guy and his agent haven’t been caught lying yet. But somehow it’s this other narrative. You don’t know. They could outright testify in court and you’d stick to the narrative that you crafted.
This is all a giant ruse, for some reason that seems to not really benefit anyone?
Fever Pitch Guy
KP – It benefits Ohtani, if he moves out of Cali after his contract is over then he doesn’t pay Cali taxes.
It’s not a coincidence he had it deferred over 10 years (required minimum) and he requested these deferrals for a reason – because he’s smart, he’s got financial advisers, and it benefits him.
KP23
Fever Pitch Guy
I don’t buy it, because the state can come after you anyways. Not to mention, two other teams were offered and agreed to contract Toronto and San Fran, so I think it’s legit
KP23
Fever Pitch Guy
“The Dodgers are benefiting with a $46M annual CBT hit instead of a $70M annual CBT hit, but here’s the thing …. it was never, EVER gonna be a $700M contract without deferrals”
And you are launching into wild speculation. I don’t believe you’ll ever have hard evidence for this. Until then I’ll just go with the guys closest to the deal, and that’s ohtani and balelo, which oddly enough have been stating the same narrative you’re so against, for some reason. We have statements from those involved. And we have what you and some fans are suggesting. Who would you believe? (Rhetorical)
But the guy making 2 million a year until the deferral, all he cares about is the money? That’s insane
Fever Pitch Guy
KP – This has been written about ad nauseam everywhere.
If you really think some team was gonna offer him anywhere near $700M with no deferrals, well then there’s no sense trying to reason with you. I say this respectfully, you must not be familiar with Present Value vs Future Value. You must not know a dollar today is worth less than a dollar ten years from now.
KP23
Everywhere it has been speculation
This should put it to rest
Per Passan:
“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.”
2 other teams approved the 700 million contract. So 3 teams were offering 700…. Deferred or not it’s 700. Today tomorrow, that’s on paper. He didn’t defer to evade taxes, he did it for competitive reasons. Just like tom Brady. This guy is worried about winning, not taxes
KP23
This is my problem, respectfully,
-per verducci and passan
“the contract contains language “that assures the club will make good on its promise to use the savings he created to build a competitive team around him.” Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo of CAA Sports, tells Verducci that Ohtani asked him early in the free-agent process about whether it was possible to defer the majority or entirety of his salary in order to give his club more present-day payroll flexibility.
Why have a clause if the aim is to avoid taxes personally. It’s because he actually wants to win, that’s really the obvious thread. The defer is for that reason and that reason only. That’s not speculation at this point. Every statement and action he’s made completely backs the motive. Why can’t it be this?
Fever Pitch Guy
KP – The tax savings for Ohtani would have been the same with SF and LAA obviously since they are also in California.
Canada is a whole other animal because not only are you talking about a different country’s tax laws, but the changing exchange rate could also heavily impact the value of a contract.
Regardless, the heavy deferrals with Cali teams provides just two benefits: Ohtani could conceivably avoid paying Cali taxes which are the highest in the country, and the teams could have better cash flow to spend on payroll. The CBT hit is not affected in any way.
Bet Your Sweet Bippy
Ohtani is a massive coward, worse than KD by trying to hide behind the deferral like he’s some hero. What a clown, belongs with that bozo coach and team
Rob66
Maybe it was all done because he really wants to win? There was a study done where the team that had the highest paid player never won a championship. That was in the Doug Melvin era for the Brewers. Arod/Yanks were the lone exception.
Fever Pitch Guy
Rob – Ummmm …. Strasburg was the highest paid MLB player in 2019 and his Nats won the WS that year.
KP23
Rob66
Exactly Rob, countless reports suggesting this was always the motive I guess are all lies and terrible reporting.
Occam’s razor
WCSoxFan
I don’t think fans are ignoring this – some fans are confused because they’re being misled by poor reporting.
It’s clear the agent is spinning a narrative to make himself look more successful while framing Ohtani to be a generous benefactor. Hard to imagine from such wonderful and trustworthy people.
The complicity and/or ignorance from the reporters isn’t a good look either, but clearly they value the relationship with the player and agent while not giving a crap about the fans. They’re all self serving and there’s zero journalistic integrity. Blame Mark Pulishuk, not the fans.
KP23
I don’t think it’s clear that a narrative is spun.
What’s clear is that shohei wants to be on a successful team that isn’t pinned down by such a large contract. Shohei every step of the way into his career has been nothing short of a good human being.
Nothing suggests to me he’s anything other than his word, which means something to him obviously.
Mickey Solis
Signing up for a super team trying to win a ring the easy way is anything but “unselfish.” Stop making this guy out to be a martyr. He strung other teams along knowing all the while he would be a Dodger.
YankeesBleacherCreature
And the same would apply to every desired free agent ever.
Fever Pitch Guy
YBC – True, but there are varying degrees of this behavior.
For instance LeBron’s motivation to leave Cleveland and play in Miami certainly had a lot to do with the super team put together there.
And it worked, he won his first championship.
GSWfanklay
At the risk of sounding like a bitter Giants fan, ohtani comes across as an arrogant assbucket. Los Angeles isn’t any less homeless /crime/ drug infested as San Francisco. So sorry Buster but he never wanted to leave SoCal. He wanted to play in LA on the best team. I get it. Just used the rest of the league as bait
cencal
Which is what every person who has ever been employed does. lol
SF is a trash heap. LA is a trash heap that is spread out more.
Ohtani wouldn’t be living anywhere near those areas in either city regardless. His zip code would be slightly upgraded from walking through human feces and needles to his front door.
Anthony maresca
Ohtani lives in Newport Beach approximately 59 mile drive from home albeit some of the worst traffic in the entire state on a daily basis and all day and evening. Ohtani no doubt will relocate outside the LA area and be a short 20 minute drive to the stadium.
OhioDodger
Hell, he can afford his own private gondola.
GSWfanklay
Despite what Rowdy Tellez, who is from a Sacramento suburb not San Francisco, says
Degaz
Agent Malpractice. Even if it was Ohtani’s idea no way any agent should let him do that…
5TUNT1N
I hope he was making it rain during is interview haha.
hoof hearted
The best part of Nez scoring this deal for Ohtani???
It wasn’t Boras!
ASapsFables
I’m totally on board with the closed process of the historic Ohtani negotiations. What sucks is the log jam it created for the hot stove and the resulting negligent reporting that ensued.
This scenario happens far less frequently with the NFL, NBA and NHL in their respective offseasons. MLB and the MLBPA would be wise to address this issue in the next CBA.
hoof hearted
It happens every off-season. Everybody waits for the big fish to come off the board
YankeesBleacherCreature
Negligent reporting will always happen bc the season is so long. As soon as someone gets hurt in ST, the trade deadline speculations start rolling out. I’m fine with baseball’s extended free agency period. Why should MLB and players appease to a non-issue to sports writers?
Fever Pitch Guy
ASap – Wait, what?
You’re blaming the “negligent reporting” on the fact that zero information was released by all parties involved in negotiations?
Talk about bass-ackwards!
When negotiations ARE leaked, literally ANYBODY can fabricate ANYTHING without having to provide any evidence or named sources. How on God’s Green Earth does that make reporting more reliable instead of less?
These days with so many people on the internet pretending to be real reporters, most of whom are incapable of communicating anything accurately even when they do have accurate information, it would be absurd trying to decipher which ones to believe and rely on for articles here at MLBTR.
ASapsFables
I’m not referring to fake pundits which all of us can potentially be. I was talking about a professional baseball writer like Jon Morosi who actually made a public apology for running with a rumor that had zero basis in fact.
As for the MLB offseason, it clearly drags on in comparison to the other 3 sports with the main difference being hard salary caps and floors being incorporated into the latter’s CBA. Clearly the rich owners and the MLBPA are just fine with the status quo. I’m guessing the average baseball fan is less enthralled.
Fever Pitch Guy
ASaps – Whether the MLB offseason drags on is a matter of perspective, but in terms of actual length MLB is the shortest I believe.
Season ends 2nd week of November and starts last week of March, so basically 4 1/2 months. If you go by pre-season games, 3 1/2 months.
NFL is 7 months between meaningful games, 6 if you go by the start of preseason games.
,
ASapsFables
There’s no drag in the NFL postseason. There is the feeding frenzy at the onset of free agency and then the Draft. As I stated before, this is primarily a result of the NFL’s salary cap. The NBA and NHL more resemble the NFL with their offseason. They also have salary caps and spending floors along with the guaranteed contracts that the NFL lacks. MLB’s answer to salary caps is a defacto weak CBT for the big spenders and no minimum spending floor for the frugal franchises.
Wiseoldfool
IMO signing with the Doyers was a done deal. I do not believe that the Unicorn was ever going anywhere else. How much did Baz make????
DevoPettis
This confirms the Angels were never finalists as Moreno never made an offer (won’t do deferred deals). They just received one of the last courtesy calls.
SexyOhtani
Nez thinks he’s the s***. All he did was sit beside me and nod at my $700M request
deepfryar
hahahaha, was ohtani actually described as unselfish?! he single handedly damned all of MLB to indefinite horrible finances and ruined the greatest sports league in the history of sports!
JoeBrady
ruined the greatest sports league in the history of sports
!=========================
There might be some small chance you’re insane.
deepfryar
every game Ohtani does not play cost the Dodgers nearly half a million!!! such disturbing gluttony and greed! what about all the homeless people in LA?!
deepfryar
all players should be paid league minimum and then get a 1MM bonus per WAR at the end of the season.
Hego Damask
I understand he donates a good amount to the team officials that don’t make nearly as much as him or to others, but $700 million, no matter how much he truly is making each year, is way way to much money. He isn’t going to put up those numbers over ten years every year. Had he gotten more then Judge by 100 million, I’d be like, okay, the guy can at least pitch between a 3. Era to a 2. Era. But $700 million is stupid. Bad for the sport IMO.
baseballteam
Is this really more enjoyable than following Little League?
JoeBrady
If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t have likely read and commented on the article.
JJ Hall
Sports Media has to make up its mind. To criticize the “secretive” nature of these negotiations as over the top and saying LBJ was the same is oxymoronic