The Athletic has live coverage of Shohei Ohtani’s first Dodgers press conference

The sports world went into a tizzy over the weekend when Shohei Ohtani announced he was signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers for what his agency said was a record-shattering $700 million. The news ended months — and even years — of speculation regarding the superstar’s future.

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Ohtani’s decision sparked outcries of grief in Anaheim, Calif., where he spent the first six years of his MLB career. It also ignited the fan base in Chavez Ravine, which can now spend the next 10 years reveling in the two-way talents of a two-time MVP and former Rookie of the Year.

The Athletic provided comprehensive coverage of the Ohtani agreement, producing so many stories that we decided it best to compile all the pertinent content in an easy-to-follow format. Scroll on to take a look.

What the deal means for the Dodgers

• ‘For a unique, historic player,’ Dodgers give Shohei Ohtani a record 10-year, $700 million deal

The rich get richer. Now Ohtani will join a lineup that already featured Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. It’s a trio that combined to hit 112 home runs, put together a 1.006 OPS (a batting line that’s 69 percent above league average by wRC+) and stole 57 bases a year ago, guaranteed to greet you every first inning.

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• The Dodgers got Shohei Ohtani. What’s next?

Wait, you thought the Dodgers were done spending? No chance, especially because Ohtani can’t help their rotation until at least 2025. They could also use another right-handed hitter off the bench, perhaps a shortstop, and there’s some additional roster maneuvering still left to be done. The Dodgers may have made the biggest free-agent acquisition in baseball history, but their offseason work is just beginning.

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• Was the Dodgers’ and Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal a good one?

The contract dwarfs anything we’ve seen. But according to some agents and executives, it’ll be worth it. “It’ll pay for itself within six or seven years,” said one MLB evaluator. “He’s literally just a money factory. Even just on advertising alone. All the eyeballs from Japan. He’s like Michael Jordan to them. He’s like Taylor Swift.”

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• Who is Shohei Ohtani? The Dodgers are about to find out: ‘He wants mastery’

Ohtani doesn’t say much but we do know this: He’s obsessed with baseball, to the point where he lugged binders with information on hitters and pitchers throughout his rookie season. And though he hasn’t yet been able to display his greatness in the postseason, his performance at the end of the World Baseball Classic shows that the Dodgers should be excited about what he’ll do on the game’s biggest stage.

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• McCullough: For Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers are everything the Angels weren’t

For the first six years of his career, Ohtani was stuck in a desert. His Angels team failed to assemble a single winning season. So often, he alone shouldered the burden of making the squad relevant. Now he is headed for a team well-equipped to share the load — and do so for a long time.

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• The incomparable Shohei Ohtani: 10 magic numbers that reflect his rare greatness

Did you know that Ohtani has been 48 percent more productive than the average hitter of his era and 42 percent more effective than the average pitcher of his era? That’s the kind of information you’ll find in Jayson Stark’s breakdown of Ohtani’s career by the numbers.

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• Shohei Ohtani gets the deal he deserves, and the Dodgers get a superstar — Law

Keith Law details why this deal is worth it for the Dodgers, who’ll get a player who was worth about 4 WAR more on offense than their designated hitters in 2023. Then he explains why Ohtani’s decision is pretty awful for the Angels and Giants, but perhaps not so terrible for the Blue Jays.

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What the deal means for the teams that missed out

• Shohei Ohtani is off the board. How star’s signing impacts 9 teams that missed out

From San Francisco to New York, Atlanta to Seattle, Toronto to Texas and other cities in between, the end of Ohtani’s courtship signals a pivot to offseason plans. Many will now look elsewhere for a frontline starter, which should ignite a hot stove that had until Saturday been cold.

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• After losing out on Shohei Ohtani, Blue Jays must quickly pivot to what’s next

The Blue Jays front office seemed to be operating to make a significant splash this offseason. They pursued both Ohtani and Juan Soto, players that ultimately went elsewhere. Toronto must now find a way to salvage the winter or risk further upsetting a fan base that just two months ago suffered through a controversial playoff loss. There are options such as Cody Bellinger, one-time fan favorite Teoscar Hernández and J.D. Martinez on the free-agent market. The Blue Jays can also swing trades to shore up their lineup. It’s too early to cast Toronto’s offseason as a failure.

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• Shohei Ohtani is gone, and the Angels have little but regret to show for it

As unforgettable as Ohtani’s run with the Angels was, so was the Angels’ legacy with Ohtani in their lineup.

They went 73-89 the past two seasons after finishing 77-85 in 2021. They never played a meaningful September game. Never sniffed the postseason. And the team’s inability to win led to perpetual national ridicule for authoring a situation where all-time talents Ohtani and Mike Trout sat at home each October.

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Fans went to Angel Stadium to say goodbye to Shohei Ohtani and express their feelings about his departure. (Sam Blum / The Athletic)

• At Angel Stadium, fans mourn as signs of Shohei Ohtani are quickly wiped away

It took no time at all for the Angels to remove traces of Ohtani from the front of their stadium. A worker in a cherry picker took down a mural of Ohtani while fans gathered to mourn the end of a complicated six-year period.

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Mets owner Steve Cohen: Ohtani’s agent ‘never reached out to me personally’

Ohtani probably never had much interest in playing in New York. His decision to remain out west means the Mets can direct many of their resources to trying to sign another Japanese star pitcher: Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

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• Shohei Ohtani is going to the Dodgers, and you need to hear it’s OK. Sorry, but …

You can’t fault the Giants for failing to match the Dodgers’ proposal. Think instead about what the Giants can still do this offseason, like signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Blake Snell or trading for Tyler Glasnow.

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• As Cubs pivot off Shohei Ohtani’s decision, Craig Counsell will impact what comes next

The Cubs didn’t get the top free-agent player, but they did nab the top free-agent manager. Counsell is busy working with the Cubs R&D department, trying to solve the puzzle of how to get Chicago to the postseason next season.

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How this affects the offseason and beyond

• What the Shohei Ohtani deal means for the other big names on the market

With the No. 1 free agent off the board, the rest of the top available free agents will finally see their markets take shape. But teams that need a DH could also be motivated to turn to hitting-centric players like J.D. Martinez, Rhys Hoskins, Mitch Garver, Jorge Soler and others.

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• Rosenthal: Shohei Ohtani’s $700M deal shows that baseball is far from broken

Fans of the losing bidders — the Cubs, Giants and most of all, the Blue Jays — will not want to hear this. Fans of teams in the game’s smallest markets will want to hear it even less. But Ohtani’s choice of the Dodgers, who play in the nation’s second-largest media market, only enhances his stature, and that of his sport.

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(Top photo of Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts: Brian Rothmuller / Icon Sportswire via Associated Press)

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