The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the most aggressive team this offseason, committing more than $1.1 billion to land Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernández.
Ohtani was signed to a 10-year, $700 million contract, which is the richest deal in professional sports history. However, all but $20 million of the total value is deferred to future years.
The unique structure helped the Dodgers sign Yamamoto to a record-setting 12-year, $325 million contract. It is the largest deal for a pitcher in MLB history, surpassing the nine-year, $324 million contract Gerrit Cole signed with the New York Yankees prior to the 2020 season.
During an appearance on the “Foul Territory” show, Max Muncy said he was taken aback by the contracts given to Ohtani and Yamamoto, but isn’t surprised the Dodgers pursued them:
“The money might surprise me a little bit, the people they got doesn’t surprise me. They’ve been talking about Yamamoto for years. I can remember three or four years ago, guys kept talking, ‘when Shohei becomes a free agent, who’s going to go after him?’ And our guys would always talk about Yamamoto, so that’s a name that I’ve been hearing for a long time, and I think that’s someone they’ve really wanted. So the names don’t really surprise me. The money surprises me, that’s a lot of money. But we’ll see if they’re worth it. I think they’ve been super high on both these guys for a long time. And I think they’re going to be worth it in terms of the amount of stuff they’re going to bring in off the field. There’s no doubt about that.”
As Muncy noted, the Dodgers have long been interested in Ohtani and Yamamoto, and they were determined to sign both players no matter the cost this offseason.
The Dodgers previously hinted they would spend big after suffering another early playoff exit, but it was hard to fathom they’d go this far in addressing their roster.
The Dodgers likely aren’t finished adding to their roster as they still want to acquire another starting pitcher and possibly a releif pitcher. L.A. has been connected to some of the top available relievers, including Josh Hader, Robert Stephenson and Ryan Brasier.
Max Muncy explains signing contract extension below market value with Dodgers
Muncy signed a two-year, $24 million contract extension with the Dodgers this offseason that includes a club option worth $10 million for the 2026 season. With the new deal, Muncy will earn $2 million less than he would’ve if the team picked up his original club option for 2024.
The 33-year-old admitted he could have earned more as a free agent, but didn’t mind taking a discount due to his comfort level with the organization.
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