The highest ever treatment of 800 billion won, emptied 17 times... Ohtani, is the Dodgers really close to signing a contract?
The highest ever treatment of 800 billion won, emptied 17 times... Ohtani, is the Dodgers really close to signing a contract?
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The LA Dodgers are doing their best to 'recruit' Shohei Ohtani (29), the biggest free agent player.
On the 8th (Korean time), American media, including 'USA Today', reported in unison that 'the Dodgers even went so far as to leave Ohtani's number 17 uniform blank.' USA Today said, 'The Dodgers called veteran bullpen Joe Kelly (35) this week and asked if he would give up his jersey number 17 to Ohtani.'
Kelly is a top bullpen player in the big league who signed a one-year contract with the Dodgers last week for $8 million (about 10.4 billion won). Although his skills showed a decline as he entered his mid-30s, he recorded 126 games, 8 wins, 88 holds, 115⅔ innings, and an ERA of 3.42 over four seasons with the Dodgers (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023). He boasts a total of 762 holds in 12 big league seasons.
As a veteran pitcher, Kelly's pride could have been hurt by the team's request to give up his uniform number to Ohtani. However, Kelly is said to have told Dodgers officials, "It is an honor to be able to change Ohtani's uniform number."
Number 17 is the uniform number that Ohtani has kept since he 수원출장마사지 first signed a major league contract with the Los Angeles Angels in the winter of 2017. This is a point where we can see how serious the Dodgers are about signing Ohtani. In addition, the American media is even expressing the opinion that the Dodgers were so sure of signing Ohtani that they even prepared his uniform number.
'CBS Sports' also expressed the opinion that Ohtani has never expressed that much affection for uniform number 17. The media reported, 'Ohtani wore uniform number 11 when playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and played in a uniform with uniform number 16 at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) held this spring.'
Ohtani said at a WBC press conference last March, "I don't really care what number is on my uniform. But I always wear number 16 when I play for the Japanese national team."
Even if uniform number is not a very important factor, the Dodgers are evaluated as the only team that can afford Ohtani's sky-high price. It is known that the Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, LA Angels, and Atlanta Braves are currently in the race to recruit Ohtani.
The prevailing view is that the ransom will exceed click here the $500 million (approximately KRW 654.3 billion) expected before the opening of free agency. New York Post columnist John Heyman said, "Ohtani has already received bids from multiple clubs. The amount is well over $500 million, and some people are wondering if the total could reach $600 million (about 785.3 billion won)." He said. The general consensus is that the Dodgers are the only team that can afford the huge sum of $600 million.
In addition, even the director stepped in to provide support. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts attended the winter meeting on the 6th and said, "The club had a 2-3 hour meeting with Ohtani in Los Angeles a few days ago. Ohtani is clearly our top priority." Usually, the contact between the club and the FA is kept secret until the contract is announced, but it is no secret that the Dodgers are very interested in Ohtani, so the manager seems to have mentioned the meeting to the media without hesitation. It gave off a nuance that the Dodgers were ahead of signing a contract with Ohtani, and it also gave the impression of stimulating other competing teams.