Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (50) still can’t quite get over the realization that Shohei Ohtani (29) has joined his team.
Ohtani made his first appearance as a Dodger during an induction ceremony at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, USA, on April 15. Earlier, Ohtani made headlines when he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, the highest in professional sports worldwide, with a “dipper” that would pay him $680 million after the end of the contract. He also included a special clause that allows him to opt out and become a free agent if co-owner Mark Walter and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman step down.
At the induction ceremony, Ohtani wore a Dodgers jersey with the number 17 on the back and a blue cap. A massive 300-member press corps was on hand at Dodger Stadium to see Ohtani become a Dodger, and the live stream of the induction ceremony was viewed by an estimated 70 million people.
Dodgers manager Roberts was among those who couldn’t believe it was happening. Roberts attended the induction ceremony, smiling from ear to ear and clapping.
According to local media such as MLB.com, Roberts said after the ceremony, “To be honest, I still don’t know if it’s a dream or real. I can’t believe we put Ohtani in a Dodgers uniform. The most talented baseball player in the world is wearing a Dodger uniform.”
Roberts caused some controversy when he readily revealed that he had met with Ohtani at the Winter Meetings on April 6.
“I met with him the other day at Dodger Stadium and talked to him for three hours,” Roberts said, noting that Ohtani’s camp wanted to keep even the smallest details of the free-agent negotiations out of the public eye. “I met with him at Dodger Stadium the other day and talked to him for three hours, and it’s no secret that he’s our top priority,” Roberts said.
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said, “I was surprised that Roberts would say that,” and it seemed to be a major factor in the negotiations. But now that Ohtani has finalized his decision to join the Dodgers, the much-maligned Roberts can breathe a sigh of relief.
Now, 토토사이트 the question of how to utilize Ohtani is a happy one for Roberts. Due to elbow surgery and rehabilitation, he will not pitch next year and will focus on the designated hitter position. “I had Freddie Freeman and Ohtani on the field the other day,” Roberts said. He asked me who’s going to hit second and third, and that’s something we all have to discuss. We have two big, big options.” “It’s exciting to see a dream become a reality. I’m looking forward to building a trusting relationship with Ohtani.”
Depending on how Ohtani rehabs his elbow
The team is also considering the unorthodox option of playing him in left field at the end of the season. “I asked him if he would be willing to play left field in September if he could throw a ball,” Roberts said on the Dan Patrick Show podcast on Saturday. Ohtani said, ‘If my arm feels good, I can do it.’ He left it open-ended, saying, “There’s a lot of time until then, so we’ll see.
Since reaching the major leagues, Ohtani has been a two-hitter, playing defense in only seven games. In 2021 with the Los Angeles Angels, he played six games (7⅓ innings) in right field and one game (1 inning) in left field. In all of those games, he was moved from the designated hitter to the outfield and never started. He previously played 57 games in right field and seven games in left field for the Nippon Professional Baseball Nippon Ham Fighters in 2013-2014.
With Mookie Betts set to move to full-time second base next year, the Dodgers’ outfield consists of left fielder Chris Taylor, center fielder James Outman and right fielder Jason Heyward. They acquired outfielder Manuel Margot in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays along with starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow, but overall the outfield is a bit thin. If Ohtani’s arm recovers from his season-ending injury, the Dodgers’ outfield will have new cards to play by fall ball. It will also give Roberts more depth at the plate.