Dodgers Dugout: Shohei Ohtani did the team a real favor

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell and Shohei Ohtani is getting so much money, Santa Claus sends him a Christmas wish list.

Didn’t think the newsletter would be back so soon, but we have some interesting details on Ohtani’s contract, a trade, and I fixed the link for the Ohtani poll (gee, I take six weeks off and forget how to do everything).

When it was announced that a lot of the money in the $700-million contract was deferred, speculation grew as to how much. We have an answer: Almost all of it.

Ohtani will not be paid $70 million next season. He will be paid $2 million. That’s right, $68 million of the money is deferred. And it’s that way every season of his deal. The Dodgers will actually pay him $20 million over the next 10 years. Starting in 2034, when his contract is done, he will be owed $68 million a year until 2043.

Don’t start a gofundme for Ohtani just yet, though. Keep in mind he is expected to earn about $50 million next season in endorsements , so he will be fine. He was the one who brought up deferring the money, and according to reports, would have done that with other teams. He wants to play for a winner, and wanted to do everything possible to make sure whichever team he signed with could afford other players. That’s the type of person you want on your team.

This deal brought up some questions from readers:

Will the $68 million a year beginning in 2034 count against the luxury tax threshold?

No, it won’t.

Will the Dodgers just be charged $2 million a year against the luxury tax threshold the next 10 years?

No. They will be charged more than that. When money is deferred, the contract is calculated at what the estimated annual average value of the deal will be. Every dollar earned today is not worth the same as every dollar earned 10 years ago or 10 years from now. Using their mystic ways (I believe involving bailing wire and an abacus), MLB has calculated Ohtani’s contract to actually be worth $460 million. Divide that by the length of the deal, and the Dodgers will be charged $46 million a season against the luxury tax threshold.

Those are the two most important issues to keep in mind. And if you are worried that in 10 years the Dodgers will be hampered by the fact they are paying a player $68 million who is probably retired, keep in mind they are going to reap a financial windfall just by having Ohtani. The deal should more than pay for itself. The only way this haunts the Dodgers is if Ohtani suffers some sort of career-ending injury, or can’t pitch anymore. Which is always a possibility, but why focus on that, when it’s just as likely that he continues to be a great player?

None of us know what is going to happen in the next 10 years, so let’s just sit back and enjoy the ride. If something bad happens, then we can complain.

Would you have signed Ohtani to this deal?

I don’t have access to the Dodgers’ financial situation. I don’t have access to Ohtani’s medical records to see the details of how bad his latest elbow surgery was. And as a fan, all we care about is winning, not how much money the Dodgers will make from a deal. So, just speaking as a fan, probably not. But it’s also true that it’s going to be pretty exciting to watch Dodgers games with Ohtani in the lineup.

There’s a lot more to Ohtani’s contract, but those are the main issues above. Jack Harris again broke down all the new details in this article, that I recommend. It costs $1 to subscribe to our site for six months, and none of that money is deferred.

Ohtani poll

This link works! Are you happy about this Ohtani deal? Vote here in our informal survey.

Trade!

To make room for Ohtani and Joe Kelly on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers traded reliever Victor González and infielder Jorbit Vivas to the New York Yankees for shortstop prospect Trey Sweeney. González was a key member of the 2020 World Series title team but was never the same after that, with an injury sidelining him for all of 2022. Vivas spent most of last season at double-A Tulsa, where he hit .280 with limited power. Sweeney was the No. 8 prospect in the Yankees system and spent last season in double A, where he hit .252 with limited power. He is ranked as the 18th-best prospect with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers’ current top 10 prospects:

1. Dalton Rushing, C
2. Michael Busch, 3B/2B
3. Diego Cartaya, C
4. Nick Frasso, RHP
5. Gavin Stone, RHP
6. Andy Pages, OF
7. Josue De Paula, OF
8. River Ryan, RHP
9. Landon Knack, RHP
10. Payton Martin, RHP

You can check them all out here.

Vic Davalillo

Vic Davalillo, who played 16 seasons in the majors, the last four with the Dodgers from 1977-80, died last week at his home in Caracas, Venezuela. He was 84.

Down the stretch of the 1977 season, the Dodgers were looking for a left-handed pinch-hitter. Davalillo, 38, was hitting .384 for Aguascalientes in the Mexican League, so the Dodgers sent a scout down who recommended the team sign him.

Davalillo hit .313 with the Dodgers in 1977, but is best remembered for one postseason at-bat. With the NLCS tied a one game each, the Dodgers traveled to Philadelphia for an important Game 3. The Phillies led, 5-3, in the top of the ninth and closer Gene Garber retired Dusty Baker and Rick Monday to start the inning. Davalillo, batting for Steve Yeager, came to the plate and, with the infield playing deep, laid down a perfect drag bunt for a single. Manny Mota, batting for pitcher Lance Rautzhan, then hit a fly ball to deep left that Greg Luzinski, with all the grace of a moose on stilts, tried to trap against the fence. It was a double. Davalillo scored to make it 5-4. Davey Lopes singled to deep short, just beating the throw (Phillies fans will tell you he didn’t beat the throw) to make it 5-5 and later took second on a bad pickoff throw. Bill Russell singled up the middle for the go-ahead run and Mike Garman shut down the Phillies in the bottom of the inning for the win.

Davalillo hit .312 in 1978 and .259 in 1979 all mainly as a pinch-hitter. He had six at-bats for the Dodgers in 1980.

In case you missed it

How much the Shohei Ohtani contract will cost the Dodgers over the next 10 years

Joe Kelly’s wife offered Shohei Ohtani No. 17. Can she get credit for Dodgers signing Japanese star?

Julio Urías police investigation complete, L.A. County D.A.’s office reviewing for charges

Column: Shohei Ohtani is just the latest young person to leave O.C. for L.A. Surprise, surprise

A $900 ticket for Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers debut? Seat not included

And finally

Vic Davalillo starts the Dodgers off as they score three runs to beat the Phillies. Watch and listen here.