A 10-year, $700 million contract, one of the largest deals in MLB, was offered to Shohei Ohtani by the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023. Although Ohtani will receive most of it as deferred money after the 10 years, the contract remains one of MLB’s biggest talking points. Now, after nearly three years into the partnership, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes the franchise got considerably more than it bargained for.

Speaking during a feature on Spectrum News California, Roberts offered a rare perspective on Ohtani’s financial impact. The skipper acknowledged that the Japanese superstar has helped grow the Dodgers’ business far beyond their initial expectations. When asked about the value Ohtani brings to the organization, Roberts didn’t hesitate to call the contract a “steal deal.”

Certainly the generational talent [of Ohtani], once in a lifetime talent showing on your team makes you competitively better, but the other side of it with baseball -it’s the baseball operation side and there’s the business side and they’re equally as important, right?” Roberts told Spectrum News California. “And so getting Sho and then what we thought the revenue was going to be, the awareness, the excitement, it’s really 10 times what we even anticipated. So that $700 million is a steal.”

The statement underscores why the Dodgers’ investment in Ohtani cannot simply be evaluated through his batting statistics or contributions on the field. His arrival has opened an enormous international commercial market for the franchise, particularly in Japan. Ohtani alone draws a considerable amount of viewership. He is one of the country’s most recognizable sporting figures.

The Dodgers have benefited from increased international attention, Japanese corporate sponsorships, merchandise sales, and greater interest in attending games at Dodger Stadium. Partnerships involving companies such as All Nippon Airways and Kose have further demonstrated the commercial opportunities associated with Ohtani’s presence.

Furthermore, most of the highly discussed contract is in deferred money. Ohtani agreed to defer $680 million of his contract, receiving just $2 million annually during the 10-year playing agreement. The remaining payments are scheduled between 2034 and 2043. The structure helped the Dodgers manage their competitive balance tax obligations while maintaining flexibility to strengthen their roster.

According to the MLB Players Association’s calculations at the time, the contract’s present-day valuation was approximately $437.8 million, considerably below its headline value.

Meanwhile, Ohtani’s contributions have not been restricted to the commercial side. His unprecedented two-way abilities, combining elite hitting with pitching, make him one of baseball’s most valuable players.

For Roberts, managing a global phenomenon comes with additional responsibilities. He previously acknowledged that Ohtani attracts an extraordinary level of attention, making it important to be mindful of his words and decisions.

Before Game 3 of the NLCS, Roberts also stated that managing Ohtani is different than the rest.

“It’s different than any player, you might argue, in any sport right now because he’s a global phenomenon,” Roberts reportedly said. “So anything he does is newsworthy; I understand that. You’ve got to be careful with your words because things get taken out of context, which I understand.”

“Certainly it’s tougher to manage [Ohtani] and I’ve got to be mindful. But man, this guy is great for our game. He’s great for all of us.”

Meanwhile, Ohtani has revealed that he plans to return to his two-way form in 2027.

Ohtani’s plans for 2027

Easily considered baseball’s unicorn, Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup fully healthy in 2027 after injuries derailed him this season.

Following the recovery from his second Tommy John surgery, Ohtani entered this year hoping to handle his two-way role full-time. He even did it for the first few months of the season, throwing a Cy Young-worthy 1.08 ERA in the month of May. However, lingering right-knee inflammation and biceps issues hampered his progress.

As Ohtani struggled to simultaneously hit and pitch while remaining healthy, the Dodgers decided to shut him down from pitching. Though Ohtani never again threw a game this year after July 3, he did not return to his usual form as a DH either.

Those injuries continued to hamper Ohtani as he struggled at the plate. Ohtani suffered from a home run drought that lasted from August 18 to NLCS Game 4. In a bid to save the Dodgers’ postseason, Ohtani hit the three-run homer. However, his valiant efforts could not save the Dodgers, as the Milwaukee Brewers completed their sweep and eliminated them.

Following the end of the Dodgers’ 2026 campaign, speculation about whether Ohtani would undergo surgery for his knee arose. However, Andrew Friedman has said that the two-way phenom would not need to go under the knife at the moment.