Dave Roberts confirms he nearly cost the Dodgers a shot at Shohei Ohtani last winter

The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their World Series title with a parade through downtown L.A. on Friday afternoon, the culmination of a season's — and an offseason's — worth of hard work. The road to the eighth title in franchise history began nearly a full year ago, when the team laid down the gauntlet to the rest of the league by signing Shohei Ohtani to the richest contract in MLB history: 10 years, $700 million.

Ohtani proved to be worth every penny of that (largely deferred, but still) money and more, putting up the first 50-50 season in the history of the sport and helping slug the Dodgers to the World Series before a shoulder injury derailed his first career Fall Classic. The production, the star power, the Commissioner's trophy; it's all exactly what the team envisioned when it signed Ohtani last December. Which is why it's so funny that Ohtani's manager, Dave Roberts, offered everyone a brief reminder that the deal almost never happened at all.

Roberts took a well-earned victory lap during the Dodgers' World Series parade, making a stirring speech, chomping on a cigar and dancing like that one embarrassing uncle everyone has. But he also couldn't help but mention that one time he nearly derailed his team's attempt to sign Ohtani in the first place.

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Dave Roberts: 'I almost screwed it up' with Shohei Ohtani free agency

First, let's set the scene. It's the first week of December, just about a month after Roberts and the Dodgers humiliated in an NLDS sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Winter Meetings have arrived, and L.A. is looking to wipe the slate clean by landing the biggest free agent in baseball history in Ohtani.

But there's a catch: Just about every team in the league wants to approach Ohtani, and he and his agent, Nez Balelo, have told teams that they won't take too kindly to information being leaked about the negotiation process. So, naturally, Roberts gets in front of a bunch of microphones and makes clear that not only is Ohtani the Dodgers' top priority, but that the player and team had already met.

It's hard to imagine now, but for a few days there was legitimate panic that Roberts' flagrant disregard for Ohtani's wishes might drive him elsewhere. Roberts refused to apologize for his candor — “I don’t feel like lying is something I do," he said. "I was asked a question." — but in the afterglow of a World Series title, he was willing to admit that his confidence was really a facade.

Hey, kudos to Roberts for being willing to own up to it. The Dodgers knew they checked every box for Ohtani, and probably felt confident that he wouldn't sign elsewhere just because of a headline or two. Now that Ohtani's earned his first World Series ring, it seems like that was the right choice for all involved.