ESPN: 'Many Believe' Angels' Shohei Ohtani Will Join Dodgers; Eyed for $600M Contract

After an unusually quiet offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers could be primed to make a significant run at Shohei Ohtani as a free agent next winter.

Appearing on Get Up (starts at 0:24 mark), ESPN's Buster Olney said the feeling around MLB is that "many believe" Ohtani will end up with the Dodgers on a deal that could be worth at least $600 million.

Without explicitly stating their intention to make a run at Ohtani, the Dodgers at least indicated to outside observers they could be planning to do something big next offseason.

Los Angeles' front office didn't sign a single free agent to a contract longer than one year. Trea Turner, Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney, Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger were among the notable Dodgers who left to sign with new teams in free agency.

The Dodgers are coming into the 2023 season with the fifth-highest payroll in MLB at $218.3 million. It's the first time in four years they haven't had the highest payroll in the sport.

Despite not being spenders this offseason, the Dodgers are over the $233 million competitive balance tax because of the $22.5 million they still owe Trevor Bauer and $5 million they are paying Miguel Rojas after acquiring him from the Miami Marlins.

Los Angeles could get under the tax before the end of the year by making one or two trades during the season, though president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters in February it's not a mandate and said "we're doing all we can to win a championship this year."

The Dodgers could have up to $116 million come off their payroll after the 2023 campaign. Most of that stems from Clayton Kershaw ($20 million), Julio Urías ($14.25 million), Noah Syndergaard ($13 million) and J.D. Martinez ($10 million) set to become free agents.

This would allow the Dodgers to add at least one massive salary to their roster and still potentially avoid going over the competitive balance tax in 2024 to reset any future penalties.

Ohtani seems likely to shatter the record for the largest contract signed by an athlete in North American professional sports. Patrick Mahomes' 10-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs that could be worth up to $503 million is the current contract benchmark.

Mike Trout, Ohtani's teammate with the Los Angeles Angels, owns the richest contract in MLB history at $426.5 million over 12 years.

The 28-year-old Ohtani won AL MVP in 2021 and finished second in 2022. He owns a .267/.354/.532 slash line in 566 games as a hitter and a 2.96 ERA with 443 strikeouts in 349.2 innings as a pitcher.