Shohei Ohtani Rumors: Dodgers Exec 'Obsessed' with Signing Star this Offseason
Now that the window of time has opened for teams to be able to speak with external free agents, we should start to see some signings come in shortly. Normally the bigger names take a little time as the agents have to work everything out.
This means that the Dodgers will have their chance to aggressively make a run to land two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani this winter, something that the franchise has been trying to do for some time now. LA has wanted him in Dodger Blue since his high school days, and now they will have another chance to get him.
President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman is expected to do whatever it takes to land Ohtani this offseason, and most in the industry believe that as well. MLB insider Buster Olney of ESPN.com provided an update on just how much LA is ready to go after Ohtani.
“One person in the Dodgers' organization said president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is "obsessed" with Ohtani and that Friedman will put L.A. in position to land him.”
After being embarrassed in two straight postseasons, the Dodgers know that they need to heavily upgrade their roster. They want to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again, and getting Ohtani could be one way to do that.
While he won’t pitch in 2024, he is expected to resume his two-way abilities in 2025 after he recovers from a procedure to repair a torn UCL. But his bat alone is worth signing him to a record contract, and hopefully, he can return to being the player he was on the mound.
Ohtani is the biggest show in baseball, and his playing in Los Angeles would be great for the sport. LA gives him both a consistent winning organization and the financial backing that it will take to land him.
Many in the industry believe that the Dodgers are the frontrunners to land Ohtani this winter. And by the way many have phrased it, Ohtani could very well end up in Dodger Blue finally.
