Dodgers Announce 10-Year Contract with Shohei Ohtani

Jiji Press

16:51 JST, December 12, 2023

Los Angeles (Jiji Press)—The Los Angeles Dodgers said Monday that they have signed Japanese two-way baseball star Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year contract.

Ohtani, a free agent from the Los Angeles Angels, formally joined the Dodgers after his agent said Saturday that the 29-year-old two-time American League Most Valuable Player had reached a 700-million-dollar contract with the club, the biggest deal in value in the history of professional sports.

“I can say 100 pct that you, the Dodger organization and I share the same goal—to bring World Series parades to the streets of Los Angeles,” Ohtani said in a statement released by the Dodgers.

Ohtani is expected to have a press conference as early as this week.

On social media platform X, the Dodgers said, “Welcome to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani!” The club released an animation of Ohtani wearing the uniform number 17.

The Los Angeles Angels, with whom Ohtani spent six seasons, released a statement on platform X, saying, “We feel extremely fortunate that Angels fans were able to witness him redefine what is possible in our sport.”

“We thank Shohei for his many contributions to our franchise and the game of baseball,” the statement continued. “We wish him the best during the next chapter of his career.”