The race to land Shohei Ohtani is apparently starting to wind down, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are still in the mix.
Manager Dave Roberts confirmed on Tuesday that he and the team met with Ohtani “a couple days ago” at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It’s unclear how far that meeting progressed or what actually happened between Ohtani and the Dodgers, but the team is apparently all-in on landing the two-way star.
"Clearly, Shohei is our top priority," Roberts said, <a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2023-12-05/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-meeting-dave-roberts"><ins>via the Los Angeles Times</ins></a>.
Roberts' comments are some of the first real public comments that have been made amid the secret courting of the two-time MVP this offseason. Ohtani, despite undergoing elbow surgery that will keep him from pitching until 2025, is expected to draw the largest total contract in MLB history.
Since Ohtani entered free agency, many in the league have been very quiet about their meetings with Ohtani. The belief is that making comments about such meetings or potential deals could be held against teams.
"I don't feel like lying is something I do," Roberts said, <a data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2023-12-05/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-meeting-dave-roberts"><ins>via the Los Angeles Times</ins></a>. "I was asked a question. And yeah, I think to be forthright in this situation, we kept it quiet. But it's gonna come out at some point that we met … So I don't think myself or anyone else in our organization would want to lie about it."
The Dodgers seem like a great fit for Ohtani for a number of reasons, and the team has long been considered the frontrunner to sign Ohtani. Not only do they have the ability to offer him a record-setting deal this offseason, but Ohtani would then get to join a team that’s constantly in the postseason mix, in one of the largest media markets in the country and only a few miles from where he is now. But if it were that simple, a deal likely would already be made.
Several other teams are apparently still in the mix, too. The Toronto Blue Jays met with Ohtani at their spring training complex in Florida on Monday, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Blue Jays manager John Schneider didn't confirm the meeting — longtime catcher Erik Kratz all but did on social media, and Blue Jays fans were tracking what they believed to be Ohtani's private plane — he did confirm the team was still in the running.
"It's exciting that we're in the mix for it," Schneider <a data-i13n="cpos:8;pos:1" href="https://twitter.com/ScottyMitchTSN/status/1732140826443104346"><ins>told TSN's Scott Mitchell</ins></a>. "There's a lot of different ways to make our team better, but he's obviously a great player."
The San Francisco Giants are reportedly still in contention to land Ohtani, as are the Chicago Cubs — though belief within that organization has "significantly waned" in recent days, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
The hype surrounding Ohtani isn’t going to die down until a deal is officially made. When that is going to happen, and with who, is still anybody’s guess. The fact that there are now public comments being made after his free agency started in near-total secrecy, however, is at least a sign of significant progress.
