When Shohei Ohtani visited the Dodgers on Dec. 1, he made a point of asking the club about its player development philosophy and the state of its minor league system. Los Angeles was ranked by MLB.com midway through the 2023 season as having the sixth-best system in baseball. The Blue Jays, who were next on Ohtani’s limited free-agent tour, checked in at No. 25.
Why ask about the minor leagues? If Ohtani was signing on for the next decade or more, he wanted to know if the success of his next team would be sustainable. He had just spent six years with the Angels finishing 10 games or more out of the playoffs every year.
Dodgers personnel felt good about the meeting. If, they figured, Ohtani wanted sustained success—the possibility of postseason baseball every year—they saw themselves as the better option over Toronto. The Dodgers have reached the postseason 11 straight seasons, including three World Series appearances. They have never played a meaningless game in this run. The Blue Jays have reached the playoffs five times in those 11 seasons and have not won a pennant since 1993.
