MLB Offseason 2023-24: The $700 Million Man

[Worf factor9]

The Spankees can always use a me-first player and maybe the Pads can do better with one less of them.

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[BillJ]

Seeing rumors that the Blue Jays are going to sign Ohtani.

 

[1001001]

Seeing rumors that the Blue Jays are going to sign Ohtani.

Seems an odd choice?

 

[BillJ]

Seems an odd choice?

I had an Arrested Development scene in mind, but can't find it on YouTube.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

If Ohtani gives up on the idea of a west coast team, the Jays have some talent and could win.

At least home games will be indoors.

 

[Aragorn]

Ohtani to the Dodgers for 10 years, $700 million. It's being reported that the contract has significant deferrals so that the Dodgers can pay other players to be competitive and also reduce the cost of the competitive-balance-tax, and that this was Ohtani's idea.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Both boring and disappointing.

And yet, unsurprising.

 

[1001001]

Ohtani to the Dodgers for 10 years, $700 million. It's being reported that the contract has significant deferrals so that the Dodgers can pay other players to be competitive and also reduce the cost of the competitive-balance-tax, and that this was Ohtani's idea.

Goddamnit.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Wishing the Dodgers luck with their three quarters of a billion $ DH.

I doubt my Cubs were ever serious and I'm glad they didn't sign Ohtani. I'd rather see them try for Yamamoto and a decent 1B (if not Bellinger).

 

[tomalak301]

I'm kinda glad the Giants didn't do this, but I hate that the Dodgers did. Watching them choke in the playoffs will probably be that much sweeter, so that's a silver lining.

 

[1001001]

I’ve been an Angels fan since I was a kid. So many great players passed through our doors over the years: Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson. Most had their best years elsewhere, but still.

Shohei Ohtani became my absolute favorite. Even above the Fish Brothers.

I knew this was coming, but I am heartbroken to see him go. And I’m heartbroken we couldn’t get our shit together and field a winning team he’d want to stay a part of.

Sad day for Angels fans.

 

[Aragorn]

Since there's a new highest-paid player every year, does this contract reset the market? Will Juan Soto get $800 million in 2025?

Also, what if Ohtani no longer finds success as a pitcher after his second Tommy John surgery? That's $70 million per season for a DH.

 

[BillJ]

It seems like a lot of money for someone who just had their second Tommy John surgery.

 

[Worf factor9]

Ohtani to the Dodgers for 10 years, $700 million. It's being reported that the contract has significant deferrals so that the Dodgers can pay other players to be competitive and also reduce the cost of the competitive-balance-tax, and that this was Ohtani's idea.

He's just being pragmatic,the airfare is cheaper from the west coast/LAX.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Re: the Ohtani deal and the deferred money. Maybe MLB needs to do something about that?

I mean, if a team wants to pay out $700M, make them pay it out in the contracted time, pay the various taxes and live with the consequences,

 

[tomalak301]

Re: the Ohtani deal and the deferred money. Maybe MLB needs to do something about that?

I mean, if a team wants to pay out $700M, make them pay it out in the contracted time, pay the various taxes and live with the consequences,

If this is the future of contracts I'm hoping there is a lockout soon. We will go back (If we never left) of the haves, which is a few, and the have nots, which is many. To say we're giving a 700 million contract but it really isn't that feels like circumvention (Or absuing the system) to me, which shouldn't be allowed.

 

[Skywalker]

There's no market reset. Nobody in all of baseball is as valuable as Shohei Ohtani.

I feel bad for Angels fans, but I'm glad he ended up with a team I like and not a division rival. (I'm a Red Sox fan.)

 

[Worf factor9]

If this is the future of contracts I'm hoping there is a lockout soon. We will go back (If we never left) of the haves, which is a few, and the have nots, which is many. To say we're giving a 700 million contract but it really isn't that feels like circumvention (Or absuing the system) to me, which shouldn't be allowed.

'The rich are different than you and me.'--F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

[Timby]

If this is the future of contracts I'm hoping there is a lockout soon. We will go back (If we never left) of the haves, which is a few, and the have nots, which is many. To say we're giving a 700 million contract but it really isn't that feels like circumvention (Or absuing the system) to me, which shouldn't be allowed.

1) There cannot be any work stoppage, be it a strike or a lockout, until the current collective bargaining agreement expires in 2026.

2) While this is a market-setting amount of money, it is an absolute pittance compared to the roughly $11 billion Major League Baseball makes every year.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The Dodgers announced Monday they had signed the two-time MVP, after Ohtani had agreed Saturday to a 10-year, $700 million contract, by far the richest in the history of North American professional sports. A source said then that the majority of the contract would come in deferred money; under this structure, however, Ohtani is deferring more than 97% of his earnings. The deferred money -- totaling $680 million -- will be paid to Ohtani between 2034 and 2043, a source said.

This is almost criminal. I'll say it again, MLB needs to stop the deferred money bullshit.

I'm not saying the guy isn't worth the money (tho he may not be if he ends up being a DH for 10 years), but make teams pay a player from each year's budget and they'll think twice.