The Los Angeles Dodgers are being overly careful with Shohei Ohtani, because his availability on the field ultimately will determine whether or not they can win their third consecutive World Series.
Ohtani has not thrown a pitch in more than two months and will not pitch again this season, with the superstar two-way player telling reporters through an interpreter that he is focusing on hitting for the remainder of 2026. “The thing I was more focused on was to make sure that the pitching wouldn’t cause the worst case scenario, which was for me to not be able to play at all.”
So it got me thinking, “What would Ohtani be worth as just a hitter?” He’s currently signed to a 10-year, $700 million contract with $680 million guaranteed. Would that be the case if he never stepped foot on a mound?
The answer that I received from a few agents and execs in baseball was a resounding yes.
MLB insiders say Shohei Ohtani is worth $700 million as a hitter alone
Ohtani, 32, is signed to the best contract in baseball history. He’s won three consecutive MVP awards, and if it wasn’t for the knee and bicep ailments, he was on his way to winning a fourth despite the season that Pete Crow-Armstrong has produced with the Chicago Cubs. Still, Ohtani is hitting .277/.380/.522 with 30 home runs and 80 RBI in 130 games this season.
The Dodgers were very good without Ohtani. With him in the lineup, they have this invincible feel. They have an ability to go into any game, despite the opponent or how elite the opposing pitcher is, and feel great about their chances of winning.
But what makes the Ohtani contract so great for the Dodgers, even as just a hitter, is what he’s enabled the franchise to do with the roster. Ohtani reportedly generates more than $200 million in annual revenue for the Dodgers, according to Tom Verducci on The Baseball Insiders podcast. That means generating revenue attributable to Ohtani through sponsorships, advertising, merchandise, ticket sales, international business and more. Ohtani meanwhile is making only $2 million per season after the deferrals.
It has enabled Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers to have the flexibility to assemble the best roster in baseball history. It allowed them to sign Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract and give Edwin Diaz the biggest contract annually for a reliever in baseball history. And it will position Friedman to pursue a long-term contract with superstar ace Tarik Skubal in the offseason.
If any other star player becomes available, no matter their salary, the Dodgers will have a realistic chance at landing that player. All because of the Ohtani contract. It’s exactly what Ohtani had in mind when he pitched that structure with unprecedented deferrals: a chance to assemble the best rosters to win as many World Series as possible.
Ohtani could eventually become baseball’s best closer
The good news for the Dodgers, of course, is that Ohtani is going to pitch again. It is entirely possible that in the latter part of his contract that he could shift to the closer position. A couple years ago, a prominent baseball source mentioned that to me and added: “He’d be the best closer in Major League Baseball.”
Ideally, the Dodgers would have Ohtani start for a couple more seasons. But he remains the best and most feared player at the plate since Barry Bonds, and that alone makes the $700 million contract a coup for the Dodgers. And his presence once again makes the Dodgers favorites to three-peat as World Series champions.
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