If you know only one player in all of baseball, chances are it’s Shohei Ohtani. And that’s for good reason. He’s arguably the most prolific player in baseball, with hitting stats among some of the game’s best (career OPS+ [check out my article last year] at 158) and top-end pitching results as well. With him on their roster, the Los Angeles Dodgers have won the past two World Series and are looking to three-peat this season. They are in a good position to do so, and this stretch of dominance has provoked outcry from around baseball against what many perceive to be an unfair competitive advantage. The thing is, there’s no way (other than the Dodgers’ ludicrous media deal—perhaps more on that in a future article) in which baseball is rigged for the Dodgers. They just have Shohei Ohtani, the most impactful player in the game on the field, and all the off-the-field benefits that come with him.
The Contract
His contract is 10 years, $700 million, a nice chunk of change to be sure. Even in a sport without a firm salary cap, $70 million is a virtually untenable annual commitment to just one player. That’s where the genius of Shohei’s deal comes in. He’s paid just $2 million dollars a year, with $68 million to be paid decades in the future. That remaining money is not really free to be used for other player contracts (it has to be put aside within two years of signing), but it does lower the luxury tax (Major League Baseball’s soft salary cap) hit, allowing for the Dodgers to sign more players without going over the tax thresholds. For example, Ohtani’s deal **only** counts for $46 million annually against the luxury tax, as opposed to $70 million. This $24 million in savings was used to sign outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, whose power bat played a crucial role in the Dodgers winning the World Series in 2024. This discount enables the Dodgers to bring in even more star power and boost their chances at winning.
The Revenue
Another facet where Shohei provides a unique advantage is in his ability to generate revenue. The second Shohei signed with the Dodgers, millions of people in Japan became fans of the team. That brought in millions more in jersey and other merchandise sales. It also means more sponsors. The amount of advertising money Ohtani brings in dwarfs that of any other player in the league. Since they signed him, the Dodgers have signed corporate sponsorship deals with approximately 20 Japan-based businesses. Deals that have netted the team upwards of $70 million annually. This money can be put back into the team’s payroll to acquire more talent or even be used for marginal things like bolstering data analytics.
His Own Rule
The most tangible actual rule that has almost exclusively benefited the Dodgers is the so-called Shohei Ohtani Rule. Since 2022, MLB instituted a 13-pitcher limit for every team. However, two-way players (those who both hit and pitch) don’t count towards this limit. Well, since the rule has been implemented, it has almost exclusively benefitted one man—Shohei Ohtani. He also is the only player to benefit from another rule that enables a player to remain in his team’s lineup, even after departing the game as a pitcher. This is beneficial because Shohei’s bat can stay in the game long after his arm runs out of gas.
Conclusion
So do the Dodgers have a competitive advantage? Yes. But it is not because of a league-wide conspiracy, but because they have Shohei Ohtani.
