Tennessee’s Nashville The Dodger Stadium team store, which is usually available to the public year-round, was closed last Friday. Ballpark tours were abruptly and without warning cancelled.
Tennessee’s Nashville The Dodger Stadium team store, which is usually available to the public year-round, was closed last Friday. Ballpark tours were abruptly and without warning cancelled.Preparing for this week’s Winter Meetings at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Centre, Los Angeles Dodgers officials devoted a large portion of the day to their work. General manager Brandon Gomes and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman met with the assembled reporters that morning to go over the ballpark’s ongoing offseason plans, being careful not to reveal any names off a list of targets that has solidified in this sluggish market.
Shohei Ohtani was welcomed by the club’s leadership for a two- to three-hour meeting that afternoon, according to a league source knowledgeable on the situation who spoke with The Athletic. The extent the organisation tried to ensure the conversation remained confidential is unknown, but they wanted to prevent baseball’s most sought-after man from being recognised.
Ohtani’s meeting opportunity was little more than a formality. The team has been chasing the two-way superstar for almost ten years and has put together a strong enough roster to take advantage of what is expected to be the largest free agency in sports history. Long before Dave Roberts openly acknowledged being the only person in baseball to publicly reveal having met with the reclusive Japanese superstar as part of the pitch, Ohtani was the franchise’s top goal.
Roberts stated he believed the discussion went well when he decided to expose it to reporters on Tuesday. While providing minimal information about the meeting’s topic, the manager compared the club’s previous attempt to sign Ohtani in 2017—the year he moved to the United States for the first time after demonstrating his two-way skills in the NPB—with its current strategy. Popular players like Chris Taylor, Justin Turner, and Clayton Kershaw were part of a full-court push during that 2017 pitch as seven clubs alternately made their case. They got to take him around this time.
“Maybe it was more of a pitch,” Roberts remarked on Tuesday. “I believe it was more about simply being more acquainted with him. I believe he was just curious about the area and had some questions for us, but after six years in the league, he has a decent understanding of the Dodgers, our philosophy, and the city.
“I believe that in 2017, it was more of a pitch on topics he wasn’t very familiar with, including the nation, the location, the organisation, and the possible job. Not to speak for him, but I believe that in this case, his preferences in terms of teams are a little more limited. I don’t think that a big of a sell was necessary. I believe it was more of an attempt to simply sense what ordinary life might be like.
The Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, and the current Los Angeles Angels are among the potential clubs that Ohtani has yet to visit with. Roberts stated he was unsure if Ohtani will schedule more meetings with these teams. Out of that group, Ohtani is said to have met with the Giants and the Blue Jays, who showed him their Dunedin, Florida, spring facility. Bob Melvin, the manager of the Giants, stated cautiously on Wednesday that he had not met with Ohtani. Both manager John Schneider and general manager Ross Atkins of Toronto have always declined to confirm or address it in public.
Ohtani is the Dodgers’ “top priority,” according to Roberts, but none of the other team executives have acknowledged that they have spoken with him or even expressed interest in him. Gomes and Friedman both expressed surprise at Roberts’ abrupt admission, which added clarity to a procedure that had previously lacked it. Although Roberts’ remarks aren’t thought to have broken any Major League Baseball regulations, Ohtani’s team and agent Nez Balelo have allegedly sought privacy. In response to The Athletic’s request for comment on Tuesday on Roberts’ remarks, Balelo remained silent.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Friedman claimed to have “had a really good conversation” with Roberts over his remarks after they were made. This helped to diffuse an embarrassing situation that had arisen when Roberts immediately huddled with staff members from public relations. Country music icon Brad Paisley invited Roberts and Friedman, along with other Dodgers officials, to his ranch amid discussions he generated about the secrecy surrounding Ohtani’s future. The shock had gone off by dawn. When asked explicitly if he thought Roberts’ remarks may have affected the Dodgers’ prospects of signing Ohtani, Friedman declined to provide specifics.
Friedman declared, “I’m not going to get into that.” “After a free agent athlete signs, there are some things you may discuss. However, I simply won’t get into that at this time.
However benign Roberts’ remarks appeared to be, it remains to be seen if they wind up having any bearing on the most important decision of the offseason. In a mysterious market, however, one thing is certain: The Dodgers are big players.
