Inside the x Billion-Dollar Offseason: 3 New Players They Signed
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been among the most competitive teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the last decade, making the playoffs every year and winning the World Series in 2020. However, after consecutive losses in the National League Divisional Series (NLDS), the Dodgers front office dramatically increased its spending in the 2022-23 offseason with hopes of winning another World Series in 2024.
As of January 8, 2024, Los Angeles has spent more than $1.2 billion on free agents, although much of that money is deferred and won't be paid out until years later. Overall, they had spent about $879,000 in free agency. No other team had spent more than $175,000.
Below are three of Los Angeles' most significant signings.
1. Shohei Ohtani
The Dodgers made prized free agent Shohei Ohtani the richest active player in baseball, signing him to a record $700 million deal. However, to make his contract fit within Los Angeles' current salary structure and to allow the team to sign other free agents, Ohtani agreed to earn an annual salary of $2 million over the course of the 10-year deal. He will earn an additional $68 million in deferred salary every year from 2034 to 2043.
"I figured if I can defer as much money as I can, and if that is going to help the CBT (competitive balance tax), and that is going to help the Dodgers be able to sign better players and make a better team, I felt like that was worth it," said Ohtani in his introductory press conference.
A two-time American League (AL) MVP with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Ohtani is a 29-year-old Japanese player who is among the best hitters and pitchers in baseball. He led all AL batters in home runs (44), on-base percentage (.412) and OPS (1.066) last season and went 10-5 as a pitcher, allowing just 85 hits and striking out 167 batters in 132 innings pitched.
2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Los Angeles also signed Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325-million contract. He'll make more than $27 million per year despite having never played in MLB. It is the largest contract a pitcher has ever signed. The Orix Buffaloes, his former team in Nippon Professional Baseball, also received a $50.6 million posting fee.
In 23 games last season with Orix, Yamamoto was 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA and had 169 strikeouts in 164 innings pitched.
3. Teoscar Hernandez
The Dodgers continued to spend excessively into the New Year, signing veteran slugger Teoscar Hernandez to a one-year, $23.5 million contract. A 31-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic, Hernandez hit 26 home runs and had 93 RBI last season with the Seattle Mariners. He was an All-Star in 2021 with the Toronto Blue Jays.