Los Angeles Dodgers

Even if the Los Angeles Dodgers don't end up signing Juan Soto in free agency, they are at least doing a good job of making his other suitors aware they are actively pursuing him.

Per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez, the Dodgers have made a "highly competitive" offer to Soto even though they are "not looked upon as favorites" for the four-time All-Star.

It's unclear what constitutes a "highly competitive" offer to Soto, but it's safe to assume it probably starts at least around $600 million. Even in that case, it may not even be close to the top bids he is receiving from other teams.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, there is an expectation that Soto could end up getting at least $700 million with offers from the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays all at least approaching that number.

The Dodgers were among the teams that Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, met with last month as they were going through their first round of talks with teams to determine the serious suitors.

ESPN's Jeff Passan noted last month the Dodgers wouldn't actively pursue Soto, but they would consider him if his market wasn't as strong as anticipated.

Since it seems clear that Soto's market by actually be stronger than the already-sky-high expectations when free agency began, the Dodgers would presumably have to increase their efforts to sign him if they really wanted to do so.

If the Dodgers added Soto to a lineup that already has Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and just won a World Series, it would make all of the complaining from other owners about how much the San Diego Padres were spending a couple of years ago sound like a soft echo.

If you're the Dodgers with their financial resources and the willingness to spend them on the best players in the sport, there's no reason they shouldn't at least see if they can convince Soto to join them.

After all, Freeman is in his mid-30s and Betts is 32. They will presumably age out of their prime at some point fairly soon, so there's no harm in trying to add a 26-year-old superstar who just finished third in AL MVP voting.

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Thursday that first baseman Freddie Freeman will be ready for spring training after undergoing surgery on his injured right ankle.

"Earlier today, Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman underwent surgery on his right ankle consisting of debridement and the removal of loose bodies. The surgery was performed by Dr. Kenneth Jung at Kerlan Jobe in Los Angeles. Freeman is expected to be able to participate in baseball activities during Spring Training."

Freeman initially suffered an ankle injury during his team's 7-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Sept. 26, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com.

"Freeman got injured as he sprinted down the first-base line to beat out a wide throw from Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth," Toribio wrote. "After stepping on the bag, Freeman was trying to stop his momentum forward and rolled his right ankle."

X-rays were negative, but Freeman was ultimately diagnosed with a bone bruise and right ankle sprain. He missed the Dodgers' final three regular season games but played 13 of the 16 Dodgers' postseason contests, including the entirety of the World Series.

Freeman played through injury to author one of the greatest moments in World Series history, delivering the only walkoff grand slam ever in the Fall Classic to cap a 6-3, 10-inning win in Game 1.

The first baseman hit four home runs and knocked in 12 runners in the Dodgers' five-game World Series win to earn MVP honors. It was the second time Freeman won the World Series after doing so with the 2021 Atlanta Braves as well.

Freeman is obviously an invaluable member of the roster, and the Dodgers certainly need him healthy to author back-to-back World Series wins for the first time in team history.

Thankfully, the eight-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger appears on pace for a healthy return before spring training, giving him a full and healthy ramp-up for the team's 2025 regular-season opener on March 18 against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo.

The Los Angeles Dodgers might not be done adding to their star-studded rotation.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the "widespread industry belief" is that Japanese star pitcher Rōki Sasaki has already chosen where he wants to sign, and that his "most likely" choice is the Dodgers.

Sasaki, who turned 23 on Nov. 3, is joining the MLB for the 2025 season after a dominant four seasons with Chiba Lotte Marines in Nippon Professional Baseball. He qualifies as an international amateur free agent and can receive a limited amount of money on his first contract.

Should he choose to join the Dodgers he would pair up with countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on what is shaping up to be one of the strongest pitching lineups in the MLB.

Sasaki posted a 2.10 ERA through 394.2 innings in four NPB seasons. He struck out 129 batters in 111 innings while finishing his final campaign with a 2.35 ERA.

His contract will be limited by MLB international signing rules to a minor league deal, plus a bonus related to the size of each team's international signing pool.

Each team's bonus pool will reset when the new signing period begins on Jan. 15. The size of the pools range from $5.15 million to $7.6 million, with the Dodgers projected to end up on the lower end of that range, per MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.

Mayo noted teams can receive additional bonus pool money as part of a trade. That's how the Los Angeles Angels gathered enough funds to hand Ohtani his $2.3 million bonus when he joined MLB in 2017.

Should Sasaki have waited until age 25, he could have earned a deal closer to the 12 years and $325 million Yamamoto received from the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season.

Like Ohtani, though, Sasaki could put himself on track for an even larger deal if he is able to find success against major league competition.

After the Chiba Lotte Marines announced he would be posted and could join MLB ahead of the 2025 season, the pitcher said in a statement translated by Yakyu Cosmopolitan that his goal was to "do my best to climb up from a minor league contract and become the best player in the world."

If Sasaki was available on the open market, the Dodgers would likely still be considered a favorite to sign him. The team has already committed more than $1 billion in deferred money in order to offer lucrative contracts to Ohtani, Blake Snell, Tommy Edman, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernandez.

Acquiring Sasaki on a relatively affordable contract would help the Dodgers add another potential star without further racking up that bill.

But other clubs could still be in the running for Sasaki, who likely won't sign with a club until the bonus pools reset in mid-January. ESPN's Jeff Passan mentioned the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs as potential contenders for Sasaki this winter.

Should Sasaki decide he wants to aim for the No. 1 spot in a rotation, a destination that does not already have Ohtani, Yamamoto and Snell would be a better fit.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have built themselves a superteam thanks in part to some creative accounting that's seen the franchise kicking money down the road using deferred payments.

Right now, the Dodgers are flying high as the defending World Series champions, and they'll be competing for the Fall Classic for years to come.

There is a cost for that, of course, and Spotrac's Michael Ginnitti reported Wednesday that the team owes $1.836 billion in cash on every current Dodger multi-year contract.

• DH/SP Shohei Ohtani: $698M through 2043 ($680 million deferred 2034-2043)

• IF/OF Mookie Betts: $297M through 2044 ($115 million deferred 2033-2044)

• SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto: $270M through 2035 (no deferred money)

• SP Blake Snell: $182M through 2046 ($65.5 million deferred 2035-2046)

• SP Tyler Glasnow: $111.5M through 2028 (no deferred money)

• 1B Freddie Freeman: $102M through 2040 ($57 million deferred 2028-2040)

• C Will Smith: $101.45M through 2043 ($50 million deferred 2034-2043)

• IF/OF Tommy Edman: $74M through 2044 ($25 million deferred 2035-2044)

The Dodgers also owe free agent outfielder Teoscar Hernández a total of $8.5 million from 2030-2039. L.A. previously signed Hernández to a one-year, $23.5 million contract for the 2024 campaign.

All told, L.A. owes $1,006,500,000 in deferred money to seven players, per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press.

So there will be a hefty price to pay in the 2030s and 2040s when these players' careers are long gone.

In the meantime, though, the Dodgers have positioned themselves as a perennial World Series favorite, and there's no end in sight to that label with a host of stars, particularly three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, leading the way.

Blake Snell didn't have to think too hard when offered the chance to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason.

"It was really easy, just because me and [partner] Haeley wanted to live here," he told reporters. "It's something we've been talking about for a while. And when you look at the team, you look at what they've built, what they're doing, it's just something you want to be a part of. Look at the first three hitters in the lineup. It's tough to go against. So to be on the other side and know they're going to be hitting for me, it's pretty exciting."

Snell added: "Being in L.A., the pressure is always on. I like that. Living here, it's pretty amazing, the opportunities. But being able to pitch in a packed stadium, you know, you make moments for people, and this is where you want to play. I don't think there's a better situation that you could be in than being right here."

It probably didn't hurt that the Dodgers offered him a five-year, $182 million contract, which included a $52 million signing bonus and $66 million deferred between 2035-46, which will help the team circumvent the luxury tax threshold as it continues to stockpile stars.

He's the latest high-profile addition to L.A.'s rotation, following last winter's signings of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow. Reigning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani could also potentially return to the mound next season after spending the 2024 campaign as a designated hitter only due to a UCL injury.

Snell was also a free agent last season, but didn't receive the sort of offers he expected after winning the 2023 NL Cy Young award. Instead, he signed a two-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants that included a player opt-out for 2025, which he exercised.

The 31-year-old didn't replicate his 2023 form, partially hampered by a slow start to the season after signing with the Giants in March, but he still finished a solid 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 145 strikeouts in 104 innings (20 starts).

He was fantastic between early July and the end of September, posting a 1.23 ERA with 114 strikeouts and 30 walks across 80.3 innings. And now he'll join a star-studded Dodgers team that will absolutely be expected to repeat as champions (and might not be done making major splashes in free agency).

Farhan Zaidi could be returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers soon.

Per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal, Zaidi is in talks with the team about returning to the organization after the San Francisco Giants fired him from his position as president of baseball operations.

It's unclear what Zaidi's role in the front office would be.

Zaidi who was assistant general manager for the Oakland Athletics before taking over as general manager of the Dodgers in 2014, was in his role with the Giants from 2018 to 2014. He didn't find much success with San Francisco as the team reached the postseason just one time, though the Giants did win the NL West over Los Angeles in 2021.

He was dismissed from his role after the Giants' 80-82 season that saw them miss the postseason for the seventh time in the last eight years. Legendary Giants catcher Buster Posey, a member of the board of directors, took over his role.

In Zaidi's first stint with the Dodgers, the team won its division each season and reached a pair of World Series in 2017 and 2018, losing to the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox, respectively. During that time, Los Angeles also saw players like Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger and Walker Buehler develop into stars.

According to Ardaya and Rosenthal, Zaidi was "chiefly credited with the acquisitions" of Max Muncy and Chris Taylor.

After helping Los Angeles get back on winning track after decades of struggling, Zaidi now has the chance to return to the Dodgers and enjoy the success of a franchise highlighted by stars like Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and more.

Like Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne on a shopping spree, the Los Angeles Dodgers are racking up quite a few IOUs.

According to the Associated Press, the team has accumulated over $1 billion in deferred payments to seven players between the years of 2028-46 after the contracts this offseason to Blake Snell (five years, $182 million, with $66 million in deferred money through July 1, 2046) and Tommy Edman (five years, $74 million, with $25 million in deferred money through July 1, 2044).

Unlike the Dumb and Dumber pair, though, the Dodgers are conducting savvy business with their newfound practice of pushing the bill into the future.

The team's deferrals—most famously the $680 million owed to superstar Shohei Ohtani between 2034-43 as part of the 10-year, $700 million contract he signed last winter—have allowed the Dodgers to circumvent the luxury tax, saving them significant money in the short term.

That's the big chunk, but Mookie Betts' 12-year, $365 million contract includes $115 million in deferrals between 2033-44; Freddie Freeman's six-year, $162 million includes $57 million deferred money between 2028-40; Will Smith's 10-year, $140 million deal has $50 million in deferred money to be paid out between 2034-43; and Teoscar Hernández's one-year, $23.5 million from this past season had $8.5 million in deferred money to be paid out between 2030-39.

In the short term, the practice has allowed the Dodgers to build out a star-studded roster, one that won the World Series in 2024 and will be among the favorites for years to come.

Players also benefit on a number of fronts, including avoiding higher California taxes on their earnings if they move out of the state during the years the deferred payments are being paid out.

The downside for the Dodgers, of course, is that the bill will eventually come due, and it will be a doozy. But the current savings can be invested elsewhere, and by the time it's time to pay up, they could be well-prepared to make those payments while still fielding a competitive team, especially as revenues and the luxury-tax threshold rise in future years.

It's a loophole, no doubt, and one that many smaller-market franchises won't exercise because they simply can't afford that level of future payroll obligations. It's also a loophole that potentially will be closed when the next collective bargaining agreement is negotiated.

"An Ohtani contract, for example—[averaging out to] $70 million for 10 years—that $70 million should count against the luxury tax, not the present-day value," The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal opined during the latest Foul Territory podcast (9:18 mark). "That would prevent the Dodgers from playing games with this. It's not that they're doing anything illegal. It's perfectly legal. But it would prevent them from skirting the luxury tax calculation in that fashion."

It may also face challenges from lawmakers, namely those in California who have already decried the practice.

It should be noted, however, that deferred payments are nothing new. Anybody who has ever celebrated Bobby Bonilla Day is well aware of that fact. But the Dodgers have taken it to a brand-new level, and it seems likely that loophole will eventually be closed on them.

Blake Snell's five-year, $182 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers includes $66 million in deferred money, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman.

The deal could extend into a sixth year thanks to a conditional $10 million club option for 2030, per Heyman.

Snell is joining a star-studded rotation also featuring Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as the Dodgers look to retain their World Series title.

Like Snell, Ohtani and Yamamoto are signed with the club through 2029. Also like Snell, both were offered deferred money by the team.

Ohtani agreed to defer $680 million of the record-setting 10-year, $700 million deal he inked with the team in 2023.

The Dodgers also offered Yamamoto a contract that included money to be paid out at a later date, per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal. He opted for a 12-year, $325 million deal with no money deferred instead.

The Dodgers have now accumulated $968 million in deferred payments since 2020, according to Heyman and Spotrac.

That includes Snell's $66 million and Ohtani's $680 million in addition to the deferred money promised to Mookie Betts ($115 million), Freddie Freeman ($57 million) and Will Smith ($50 million.)

According to Spotrac, that deferred money total is more than three times the amount accrued by the other 29 teams in the MLB combined:

The Dodgers might not be done with adding to the deferred money pile, the total of which is not limited under the current CBA. MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported that the club has extended an official offer to Juan Soto, who is rumored to be seeking a contract north of $600 million.

Should L.A. land Soto, the club could cement its status as favorites for the 2025 title less than two months after winning the last championship.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani will recover $325,000 worth of baseball cards that his former interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara fraudulently purchased, per The Athletic's Sam Blum.

According to Blum, the government will move for an order "to reflect Ohtani's superior interest in the property" when Mizuhara is sentenced on Jan. 24.

Mizuhara purchased the cards online from January to March of 2024 with the intent to re-sell them. The cards featured Ohtani's image along with Yogi Berra and Juan Soto.

Last week, Ohtani requested a hearing from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to recover the fraudulently purchased cards that had been seized from Mizuhara. Prosecutors say that the hearing, which was scheduled for Dec. 20, is no longer necessary.

"Ohtani holds a valid pre-existing interest in Forfeitable Property as title to the Forfeitable Property was vested in Ohtani at the time of the commission of the acts which give rise to the forfeiture," the government wrote in its filing, per Blum.

In June, Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud after stealing almost $17 million from Ohtani's accounts to pay off sports betting debts. After being fired from the Dodgers in March, he was indicted by the federal government in April.

Along with the stolen cards and stolen money from Ohtani's accounts, Mizuhara pocketed a $60,000 check that Ohtani gave him to use for dental work and instead used Ohtani's debit card to pay for the procedure, according to a plea agreement in May. Per Blum, Mizuhara could be required to pay restitution to Ohtani.

Amid distractions off the field regarding Mizuhara, Ohtani won his third MVP award and led the Dodgers to the World Series, where they defeated the New York Yankees as the two-way star won his first championship.

The reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers continued their spending spree by signing starting pitcher Blake Snell to a massive deal last week, but many wondered why they didn't extend a qualifying offer to free-agent starter Walker Buehler.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Buehler "likely would have said yes to the one-year, $21.05 million" qualifying offer from the Dodgers, which would've been cheaper than the five-year, $182 million contract that Snell signed. However, Los Angeles reportedly "did not want to force the issue with Buehler" for various reasons.

The 30-year-old struggled through 16 regular-season starts with a 1-6 record and a 5.38 ERA. He bounced back in a big way during the postseason with 10 scoreless innings pitched over his final three appearances, including closing out the ninth inning in Game 5 of the World Series against the New York Yankees on just one day of rest to help the Dodgers clinch the title.

Rosenthal noted that the "qualifying offer would have damaged Buehler in the market, leaving him with almost no choice but to accept." The draft compensation for Los Angeles also would've been just a fourth-round pick if he rejected it, so the team decided to let him test the open market.

"This way, Buehler can negotiate a multiyear deal with the team of his choosing. Conceivably, that team could be the Dodgers," Rosenthal noted. "But other teams might value Buehler more."