The quiet was broken by Dave Roberts.
These days, Shohei Ohtani is the only baseball player that anybody wants to discuss. The Dodgers seemingly made the decision to reveаl the information after weeks of silence and shrugs from teams over his free agency status at slower-than-usual winter meetings.
Roberts stated on Tuesday that he and the Dodgers had a meeting at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium “a couple days ago” with Ohtani. The Dodgers manager reported that all players were not present, the discussion lasted approximately two to three hours, and it went well.
Roberts declared, “Shohei is unquestionably our top priority.”
Roberts said that it’s interesting that the Dodgers didn’t really have a pitch or speech ready for Ohtani since, having spent the last six years in the same market as Los Angeles, the two-way star “got a pretty good idea of the Dodgers, what we’re about, the city itself.” Rather than wasting that time, the Dodgers used it to learn more about Ohtani and what “everyday life would look like” if he signed a contract with the team. Ohtani had questions for the team, according to Roberts, but the captain kept those specifics confidential.
Roberts added that Ohtani has a great poker face and that he thought the Japanese superstar was grinning on the inside when asked if he left the meeting feeling delighted. The skipper expressed his happiness at having spent some time with them.
Roberts responded, “I don’t feel like lying is something that I do,” when asked why he disclosed these particulars. “I was asked a question, and to be honest in this case, I believe we should have been upfront about it. However, I believe that information will eventually surface, as it has clearly already done so. Thus, I don’t believe that I would want to lie about it, nor would anyone else in our organization.”
Ohtani has favored to keep his free-agency process under wraps, as has his agent, Nez Balelo.
“I think that, you know, we want to respect Shohei’s wishes, Nez’s wishes, as far as being private,” Roberts replied. Therefore, I believe that we followed the right steps to fulfill his request. .. It’s not disrespectful to anyone on our side or in Shohei’s party, in my opinion. I believe that the information will be kept private, as it should be. But it’s obvious that we value him much.”
Roberts may have revealed little details, but the Dodgers are now the first team to publicly acknowledge that they will be meeting with Ohtani this winter. Roberts’ unwavering and direct remarks marked a radical shift from past organizations’ approaches to everything Ohtani.
For example, Blue Jays manager John Schneider was seated at the same table as Roberts just ten minutes before Roberts mounted the platform. Schneider would not discuss if he and the organization met with Ohtani, where the meeting took place, or the outcome of the conversation. The Blue Jays and Ohtani had a meeting on Monday at the team’s spring training camp in Dunedin, Florida, according to a report from The Athletic.
In a related development, Schneider’s news conference with media that was supposed to take place on Monday has been rescheduled until Tuesday. Schneider and the Blue Jays made it very evident during today’s discussion that they would not discuss the rumored meeting with Ohtani.
We speak with a wide range of athletes, according to Schneider. “I wouldn’t know anything like that, if he’s, where he’s leaning or anything like that, but again, we deal with a lot of different players.”
This year has been especially quiet at the winter meetings. Roberts concurred with other executives that the free agency and trade markets need to improve when Ohtani leaves the team. The sluggish winter meetings and radio quiet only serve to highlight how ostentatious Roberts’ remarks regarding Ohtani on Tuesday were. It’s probable that the management and the team did that to challenge Ohtani and his representative to use that information leаk against them.
Is there any way to understand Roberts’ remarks? He has to be optimistic that an agreement with Los Angeles is imminent.
Roberts remarked, “But in the end, he’s his own man.” “And he’s going to do what’s best for himself, where he feels most comfortable.”
According to Roberts, the Dodgers are aware of Ohtani’s surgery from September of last year. Ohtani and his representatives also mainly withheld the specifics of the procedure, which was carried out by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. ElAttrache only confirmed that Ohtani’s right elbow surgery for the second UCL tear was unnecessary, thus we know that the player had surgery on his elbow. Ohtani will not pitch in 2023, but he hopes to be in the starting lineup on Opening Day.
Ohtani will throw again when it’s appropriate, the Dodgers are sure of it, Roberts said.
“But I think that the thing is, for us, it’s, you’re making a bet on the person, and the player as well,” Roberts stated. “However, we’re all in on the person when we’re spending this much time and money on them. We seem eager and willing to place that wager, and hopefully it pays out.”
Roberts’ candid declaration of hope that Ohtani will play for the Dodgers this season and beyond was startling. In response to a broad question concerning the team’s designated hitter, Roberts once more mentioned Ohtani as a possibility, this time without permission.
The Dodgers seem to be Ohtani’s landing place now more than ever. It might just be a question of when rather than if.