Dodgers Rumors: Insider Sees Stiff Competition Out of NL West in Shohei Ohtani Sweepstakes

The Dodgers are likely to be in on Shohei Ohtani next offseason, but MLB insider Bob Nightengale says the Padres will be, too.

As the Dodgers have battled this offseason to get under the luxury tax for 2023, the common assumption is that they're gearing up for a run at Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani next year. But no matter how committed L.A. is to Ohtani, there are no guarantees they'll end up with him because he'll likely have several serious suitors.

One of those other teams bidding for Ohtani's services, according to MLB insider Bob Nightengale, is a team Los Angeles is quite familiar with: the Padres.

The worst-kept secret in baseball is that the Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to stay below the luxury tax to jump in with all of their might to sign Shohei Ohtani as a free agent after the season. 

Their stiffest competition? 

The San Diego Padres, who also plan to be all in. 

The Padres have quite a few financial commitments for 2024 already, with huge deals for Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis Jr., relatively big contracts with Joe Musgrove and Nick Martinez, and a monstrous arbitration payday likely for Juan Soto. But Machado is likely to opt out of his deal, and the big money on Tatis's contract doesn't kick in for a couple more years.

Still, Ohtani figures to command a deal that could be worth up to $500 million, and he'll eat up a big chunk of the payroll flexibility of any team that signs him. If San Diego takes the next step forward in 2023 like they expect to, it could make sense for them to go all-in on Ohtani in the hopes of putting them over the top. But if Tatis is slow to return to form — as players often are after shoulder surgery — and the Padres scuffle in the NL West, San Diego's owners could take advantage of Machado opting out and try to cut back a little bit, as they've done in the past.

Chances are, though, that the Dodgers will have stiff competition for Ohtani's services, including from the Padres. That could be a preview for the following offseason, when Soto hits free agency. It should be fun.