Los Angeles Angels Decline to Match Dodgers’ Offer to Shohei Ohtani
Last weekend, Shohei Ohtani, the two-way superstar, announced that he had agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a whopping $700 million deal. But before Ohtani made this decision, the Los Angeles Angels had the opportunity to match the offer, but team owner Arte Moreno declined to do so, according to a source briefed on the situation.
The Los Angeles Times was the first to report the Angels’ decision to not match the Dodgers’ offer. Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, expressed that the Angels are special to Ohtani. He stated, “The Angels are special to Shohei. He was there for the last six years. Everybody has to understand. We felt that they earned the right to at least have a discussion at the end.”
Ohtani spent the first six years of his career in Anaheim and won two of the last three American League MVP awards. The Angels had the opportunity to trade Ohtani during the last two trade deadlines and last offseason, but they declined to do so. Instead, they traded away minor-league prospects in August and finished 73-89 for the second consecutive year.
It’s unclear if Ohtani would have accepted the Angels’ offer even if they had matched the Dodgers, and it’s also unknown what the Angels’ final offer to Ohtani was. However, it’s possible that Moreno did not value Ohtani as highly as the Dodgers did.
During a mid-March media availability, Moreno seemingly downplayed Ohtani’s abilities, stating, “He’s arguably the most unique player. Probably one of the top five or 10 players.” When asked if he believed the Angels would make a significant and competitive offer to Ohtani, Moreno said, “I think so,” adding that he’d be willing to go over the luxury tax threshold to do so.
Ultimately, the Dodgers offered Ohtani the most expensive contract of all time, valuing him as the top player in the game, whereas the Angels did not want to make that commitment. The Angels did not respond to a request for comment on their decision not to match the Dodgers’ offer.
It remains to be seen how Ohtani’s career with the Dodgers will unfold, but for now, he will be transitioning from the Angels to the Dodgers for the upcoming season.