Shohei Ohtani did not have to strike out a batter or swat a home run to record his first win for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Late Thursday night, the league’s latest superteam reportedly agreed to a 12-year, $325 million deal with Japanese ace righthander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the second-most coveted free agent on the market, thanks in large part to the most coveted one.
It wasn’t Ohtani’s role as an enthusiastic recruiter or even because his presence increased the team’s odds of winning and therefore its attractiveness, that sealed the deal, although those elements surely helped. No, Ohtani paid for this contract just as much as owner Mark Walter did.
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