Back when Shohei Ohtani was a free agent, there was always a sense that he was probably going to wind up with the Dodgers. It would be wrong to say it felt pre-arranged in the same way the Roki Sasaki pursuit felt at the time, but it was definitely the case where everyone expected Ohtani to land with the Dodgers in the end.
That, of course, is what wound up happening, with Ohtani accepting a PROFOUNDLY back-loaded 10-year, $700 million deal that was worth closer to $450 million when accounting for the time value of money. The fact that he took that particular style of deal, at the time, made it feel all the more like the Dodgers were always the preferred destination.
But was it actually the contract part that was never in doubt, rather than the team?
Jon Heyman reports, essentially, yes:
t.co/RremefkiJ2 More MLB notes: Angels and Cubs made curious call on Shohei. Did Mets/Yanks ever have a shot?
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 29, 2025According to Heyman, Shohei Ohtani laid out the 10-year, $700 million deal with 97% deferred when he was talking to the five finalist teams – the Dodgers, the Blue Jays, the Angels, the Giants, and the Cubs. If you wanted a chance at Ohtani, from the sound of things, that was the structure he wanted. (I wonder if the possible tax incentive was key for him.)
The Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Giants agreed to the unique deferral structure, per Heyman. The Angels and Cubs did not.
The reporting at the time had the Cubs’ final offer at ten years and something less than $500 million, which makes sense in hindsight, because it was probably designed to “beat” the true, present value of the Dodgers’ offer. But that isn’t what Ohtani wanted, and, according to Heyman, the Cubs were unwilling to go that heavily-deferred route.
To be sure, even if the Cubs had agreed, there’s no way to know whether they would’ve actually landed Ohtani. Gut says that wasn’t happening unless the Cubs did something way over the top, but that’s just a guess.
That said … why on earth would the Cubs not agree? If this report is accurate, then the Cubs may have balked at what would’ve been a better contract for them. And that’s before you use hindsight to say, holy crap, this Ohtani deal is the biggest steal of a contract in professional sports (not only on the field, but he generates like $100 million in ADDITIONAL REVENUE for the Dodgers each year, or some crazy thing like that). Does their philosophical aversion to deferring large sums of money mean they literally, completely, and totally just won’t do it, even in a completely unique circumstance like this? If so: WOOF.
We still don’t know, by the way, the precise reason the Cubs under Ricketts Family ownership have a stronger distaste for large deferrals than most other big-market clubs. In theory, deferring salary is a huge financial benefit to the organization, and allows you to sign players to “larger” contracts that they and their agents get to celebrate as a huge win. Staying out of that game may be hurting the Cubs twice: missing out on some players, and also missing out on some preferential contract structuring.
I am not a financial whiz, though, and I also don’t have access to all the inner workings of the Cubs’ business operations. It is entirely possible that there is a good, understandable, and justifiable reason that the Cubs aren’t super keen on doing the kinds of things the Dodgers do with deferred payments.
Now, in fairness, I should say that there seems to be a lot of stories going around the last couple weeks – about Ohtani and also Roki Sasaki – about how they were totally close to going somewhere other than the behemoth Dodgers. True? Maybe. Convenient timing, when you have half the baseball world up in arms about the Dodgers simply taking too many superstars because they can? With a CBA fight looming in a year? Yes, I would say this kind of framing may later aid in debates about what the Dodgers can and cannot do (“Hey, no need for a salary cap! Look, several other teams had the chance to get Ohtani for the exact same deal!”).
None of that means this reporting is inaccurate. The timing is just useful for other party purposes is all I’m saying, and that’s worth keeping in mind.
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