This off-season, Japanese two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani signed the biggest contract in MLB’s history. He agreed to a 10-year $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in one of the most historic signings of recent history. However, inside details of the contract have been revealed, which sheds a bad light on MLB.
While the Dodgers committed $70 million annually to Shohei Ohtani, the club won’t be actually paying the same figure. Apparently, LA found a loophole in CBA guidelines and decided to exploit it. However, fans couldn’t help but call out the league authorities for their double standards since MLB previously disallowed the Yankees from pulling off a similar stunt.
MLB Barred Yankees From Deferring Aaron Judge’s Salary A Year Before It Allowed Shohei Ohtani To Do The Same!
The Los Angeles Dodgers and two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani pulled off a master stroke to keep the club’s Competitive Balance Tax threshold in check. Apparently, Ohtani has decided to defer 97% of his contract value till the end of his deal. That means the LA is only liable to pay $20 million to the player from 2023-2033. The rest $680 million will be paid from 2034 to 2043. This way, the Dodgers can keep the CBT threshold in check and pursue other big names aggressively in the free agency market. Having said that, the New York Yankees previously tried to pull off a similar stunt with Aaron Judge’s extension contract in 2022.
As reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Yankees initially wanted to sign Judge in a 14-year, $400 million contract. However, the club settled for a nine-year $360 million deal after MLB intervened. The authorities said that extra years were being added to lower the payroll and, in turn, reduce stress on the CBT threshold. Yet a year later, Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers were conveniently allowed to do the same thing. Fans were quick to notice the contrasting stand and called out MLB for double standards. Interestingly, MLB won’t intervene in Dodgers’ deal with Shohei Ohtani. Jeff Passan of ESPN claimed that “there are no limitations whatsoever on the amount of deferred compensation and the percentage of total compensation for the contract of a player.” Now, the Dodgers will only be charged $46 million a season in taxes.
Dodgers To Use Saved Money To Win Yoshinobu Yamamoto Sweepstakes!
Needless to say, the LA Dodgers pulled off the heist to land more players this off-season. With the money saved from Shohei Ohtani deal, the Dodgers plan to target Japanese ace pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Initially, only the Yankees and Mets emerged as strong suitors. However, LA now has money to lure Yamamoto. Interestingly, the pitcher remains in LA, calling the shots.
He called the Yankees to meet him in Los Angeles, thus refusing to tour New York. Nonetheless, the Yankees agreed to the request and met with Yamamoto on Monday. As per rumors, the club held positive discussions. However, the pitcher is yet to make up his mind. The word is that Yamamoto will likely seal his fate by the end of the week.