MLB Rumors: Dodgers Beat Out These ‘Finalists’ For Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Dodgers landed the biggest prize of the offseason Saturday by signing Shohei Ohtani to a reported 10-year, $700 million contract.

But the Dodgers landing Ohtani didn’t come without competition.

The New York Post’s Jon Heyman jumped on MLB Network after the news of the signing staggered nearly everybody and relayed that there were other “finalists” in the running for Ohtani.

Heyman named the Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays as two teams that made it to the end of the Ohtani sweepstakes while Heyman noted the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs were also part of the final circle of contenders as well.

But Heyman believed Ohtani was always destined to join the Dodgers.

“I don’t think it’s about the money,” Heyman said. “I think the Dodgers were the favorite all along, which is what we’ve always said because of two things: geography No. 1. No. 2, they are the most consistent winning team in Major League Baseball. Just look at the record.”

Winning certainly was a motivating factor for Ohtani as despite accumulating several individual accolades, including two American League MVP awards, the 29-year-old never made it to the postseason in his six seasons with the Angels.

The fact that Ohtani could stay in Los Angeles and jump from one of the city’s teams to the other and see his chances of getting to the playoffs dramatically improve turned out to be a win-win situation.

“The geography counts,” Heyman said. “The first time, I’m not so sure, but this time I heard from everybody around him that he loved southern California. So, I do think that was a factor as well. But, certainly wants to win. I’m sure he was frustrated over the last six years.”