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Shohei Ohtani is expected to receive the largest contract in MLB history.
CNN –
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts surprised everyone – including his own bosses – by confirming that the team met with two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani at Dodger Stadium last week.
“Obviously Shohei is our top priority,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “I want to be honest. Yes, we met with Shohei, we talked and I think it went well. I think it went well.
“But at the end of the day he is his own man and will do what is best for him and where he feels most comfortable.”
Roberts told reporters he felt the meeting went well, but joked he couldn’t say whether the feeling was mutual because Ohtani had “a very good poker face.”
“I think he was smiling inside. But I was just happy to spend some time with him. We all were.”
Roberts’ openness is a departure from a previously secretive free agency in which very few details were revealed about Ohtani’s meetings with potential suitors.
Writing for MLB.com, Anthony Castrovince called the approval of a meeting “a stunning surprise in this secretive process.”
It was widely reported that Roberts was later invited to a meeting with his Dodgers bosses to ensure he wouldn’t be quite as candid in future interviews.
In a news conference later Tuesday, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes admitted he was “surprised” by Roberts’ admission and would not confirm that a meeting with Ohtani had taken place.
“It’s just not something I’m going to talk about right now,” he told reporters.
It’s unclear whether Roberts’ addition will impact free agency, but the Dodgers have long been considered favorites to sign Ohtani, with the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants and the two-time MVP’s old team reportedly also included , the Los Angeles Angels still in contention.
Ohtani, who has played for the Angels since joining the MLB in 2017, is expected to sign the richest contract in baseball history. Many reports suggest that the Japanese star will receive a 10-year, $500 million contract from his new team.
Jeffrey Fellenzer, a sports journalism professor at the University of Southern California, told CNN in July that Ohtani’s promising new contract was “uncharted territory” for the MLB.
“The numbers you hear, be it $50 million or $60 million [per year], it will set a new standard. It will be a gold standard for compensation in baseball.”
Two-way star Ohtani won’t face him until 2025 after elbow surgery and will only serve as a designated hitter in 2024.