Shohei Ohtani (大谷翔平) & Roki Sasaki Team Up On The Los Angeles Dodgers, Free Agent Updates & More

[@FlippinBatsPod]

ARE THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS THE GREATEST TEAM EVER ON PAPER?

[@Elephant2024]

They are. Especially if Sasaki is as good as advertised and Yamamoto improves. Oh and they are going to have another starting pitcher named Shohei Ohtani. Don't understand all of the rage against the Dodgers. They are playing by the rules. The other teams have the same opportunities to sign the same players.

[@Ben_Verlander]

Yup

[@HiM-lg6fw]

I think it’s not even close

[@mikeydcjr]

Yes

[@luissolis8161]

Sadly yes. But that’s on other teams. Not taking advantage of anything they have at their disposal. You’re right. Baseball doesn’t need a salary cap but they do need to change the differ money. If you don’t take away at least have a limit on how much you can differ But yes greatest starting rotation ever with the greatest baseball player ever

[@LouisAguado]

Imagine if Shohei missed the playoffs his first 6 seasons with the Angels, then goes on to win 6 Championships in a row with the Dodgers

[@DerangedHobbit]

The dodgers have the unicorn and best Japanese pitchers in the world. They didn't just buy talent, they bought 124 million fans, and they got it for a bargain.

[@blueskyoceanz]

ベンさんは最初に大谷翔平を認めてくれたアメリカ人🎉 日本人としてとても感謝しています❤

[@Mr1stcat]

Baseball doesn't need a salary cap IT NEEDS A SALARY FLOOR to punish these cheap billionaires

[@TheRiddickXxx]

Thats a good take

[@mikelucas4247]

The billionaire owners are happy to collect the luxury tax that the Dodgers are paying for and they will not invest in their own baseball teams 😂

[@halfbreed7208]

Facts ‼️LMAO 🤣🤣🤣 all of us LA fans know more about our baseball ⚾️ team than all these other people like they don’t even know we have more than one owner. All of them are billionaires and the brokers one is Magic Johnson 🏀 and he’s a multi millionaire about to be a billionaire as I speak these other owners CANT hang. With the Dodgers. They’re all billionaires and like we all know the other teams pocket money 💰 so they don’t wanna stop 🛑 ✋🏽 us. the LA Dodgers paying the other owners Dollars. 💵 LMAO 🤣🤣🤣

[@jorgelarios438]

In 10 years more Japanese will be developed in Japan and play for the dodgers. It’s an investment for the future

[@Joshywoshy1014]

"The rich is getting richer"...yet SD is not signing anyone, the Mets wildly overpaid for Soto, the Giants are content with 1 signing, the A's are being the A's, the Cubs are just letting people go, and the Blue Jays tried to recruit an A tier free agent with C tier players. These baseball "fans" are stupid and at the end of the day, nothing you say will change their mind.

[@JC-life-is-good]

Yes, nothing is guaranteed in baseball. But it is still more fun to follow a winning team like the Dodgers than the other teams. All the players are likable-Shohei, Mookie, Freddie, Teo, etc.

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

really good content here Ben I am with you

[@alwayswearsblue22]

Ben, I was wondering what happened to you! I’m happy to hear your take on the dodgers offseason. It makes so much sense. Can you run for MLB commissioner ? 😂

[@JackGeezy]

Answer: YES 116 wins 2025 WS Champions LAD

[@mel-nq6re]

116 Wins with a World Series title? Whoa, you're setting yourself up for a hard fall if this club finishes well short of those expectations. The Mets with their 2025 expectations as well, may instead be in tears if they play back the 2023 Mets' season. The higher the payrolls, the higher the expectations, the harder the fall, especially if things go astray.

[@JackGeezy]

@mel-nq6re I don't give a damm, win total might be exaggeration. But Guaranteed World Series Champions in 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers. I'll be back right here same video in November. You?

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

i am not a Dodger fan - they could win 135

[@cryptobill6188]

Let's say there IS a salary cap? Don't you think Dodgers will be the ones who spend wisely and still be a top team with the potential to win the World Series every year? Salary cap or not, it's all about smart management and Dodgers management is the smartest.

[@rainbowhouse3427]

Less money for players 🤣 We all know its an owner and players battle.

[@bpach8919]

Why is everyone mad at the Dodgers for getting better? Be mad at your owners for refusing to get better. You have billionaires convincing you the problem is someone else and not them

[@bpach8919]

Also I don’t get the artificial hate for deferred money. You got like 8 teams paying over $30m a year for players that aren’t even on the team anymore but the dodgers are an issue now on deferred money??

[@Jose-gl1ix]

Greatest team on paper. Still have to play the games.

[@ismaelsanchez3403]

Its funny to me how mostly the fanbases that hate the Dodgers (looking at you Padre fans) are the ones saying the Dodgers are ruining baseball, sounding off about how MLB needs a salary cap and how its not fair that the Dodgers organization is leaning heavily on deferrals in the last 2 off seasons. What they seem to forget is that the Padres (with the exception of leaning on deferrals) did the same thing in the 2022 off season before the 2023 season. They signed a lot of the available good pitching free agents and spent major market amounts of money on bad contracts and bad contract extensions. Their lineup was scary, their pitching was stacked and they were riding the wave of making a deep playoff run after "slaying the dragon" in the 2022 NLDS. The only reason nobody talks about the 2023 Padres is because they did not capitalize on that amazing team (at least on paper) they had top to bottom and didn't even make the playoffs. AJ Preller did make some nice moves last off season and during the trade deadline and the Padres made a nice run in the second half of the 2024 season but ultimately fell short again in the post season. I think everything previously mentioned and the great off season the Dodgers have so far is mostly the root of their anger and animosity towards the Dodgers. Maybe if Peter Seidler was still alive and spending money and signing bigger names than Martin Maldonado with dare I say "Deferrals" during this off season Padre fans would be singing a totally different tune. Go Dodgers!!

[@jdcaldwell5088]

That’s what the Padres are hypocrites🤔😊 and the rest of the league 🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻

[@AY2121-i4y]

Padres sold their whole farm and talent to win. Now they have no money and no players to pick from their farm.

[@AY2121-i4y]

Went from cocky "look at us" to we're broke😂😂😂

[@lougodi4927]

​@@AY2121-i4y Remember back when the Padres were signing everyone and trading for everyone just so the dodgers wouldn't?

[@SkyStepDrones68]

We all know it will be the Dodgers vs the Umps and the rest of baseball 🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@tagamial]

The Ohtani Effect

[@ogdocvato]

Yes indeed.

[@purimadonnanamamoritamae]

多分、そうかも知れませんが、そうでもないかも知れません😅。 佐々木朗希選手は、各球団に一斉に『昨年、ロッテである日突然球速が落ちてしまった理由と、二度と球速が落ちるという様な事が起こらない様にプランを立てて下さい』と宿題を出したそうです。 解答が返って来るまでは、親みたいな存在のダルビッシュ有選手が居るパドレスに気持ちが傾いていたそうです。 しかし、一斉に解答が返って来て『これだ!!!』と言う魂を震わせた解答をしてきたのがドジャースだったとの事です。 彼は、自分がメジャーで野球選手として投手として成長して行く事に一番に重きを置いて選択したとの事ですので、これは明らかに、素晴らしい監督とフロントのお力の結果です。 ドジャースの更なる躍進と活躍を楽しみにしています。 失礼致します🙏💭💗。

[@icekangz817]

considering ohtani will have a tight leash on his pitch count/starts, i think its safe to say on those days that he pitches the price of those tickets will be expensive.

[@Objectivity-w5j]

Tanner Scott was still sitting there waiting to be signed. Why didnt other team sign him while the Dodgers were waiting on Roki?? You're making it seem that the Dodgers signed him before anyone else realized what was happening.

[@coconutz247]

even roberts can't screw up the dodgers winning 120 games. an all star at every 26 spots.

[@Isaac-qe2in]

If it's a good day for Alex Bregman to sign with the Detroit Tigers, then why hasn't he done so yet? By all accounts, Bregman has been getting fair market offers from not only the Tigers, but the Blue Jays, BoSox, as well as the Astros. If he's stubbornly holding out for his originally proposed $300M pipe dream, then he'll deservedly be waiting a LONG while! And how 'bout Ben's biased take calling out Chris Ilitch... but NOT calling out Alex Bregman. It takes two to tango. If Bregman really wanted to be an Astro, Tiger, Red Soc, Blue Jay, or Cub, he could've been so by now.

[@Methoes123]

Baltimore and Atlanta had four 20-game winners in a season. When the Dodgers do that, then they are one of the greatest pitching rotations.

[@Adam-mj5hl]

Lol, only old timer baseball fans take stock in outdated pitching metrics like wins. I’ll take a starting rotation with no 20-game winners but all having sub 2.00 ERAs over 5 20-game winners any day. By the way, why only stop at comparing starting pitching from the 70s and 90s to today? Why not go further and include pitching from the 1920s Dead Ball era? The fact is, with the advance of pitching analytics and emphasis on spin rate and velocity, starting pitchers today are throwing harder than at any point in baseball history. The resulting increased physical strain placed on their arms has caused today’s pitchers to need TJ surgery and also resulted in a statistically significant amount lower average innings per start compared to the 70s and 90s (in 2024, starting pitchers averaged 5.22 innings per start vs. 6.1 innings in the 90s and 6.5 innings in the 70s). So of course, today’s pitchers are not winning as many games compared to pitchers from the 90s and 70s they didn’t have to throw as hard back then.

[@Methoes123]

@Adam-mj5hl Try reading Ruth's record. Ruth played with Stone Age equipment. Ruth, Cobb, and Young would have a field day in today's game.

[@Methoes123]

Haven't even mentioned the 50's too the 70's. Like Sandy Kofax or Jim Palmer.

[@AmongUsAcademy]

13:25 using that Logic, why didn’t free agent Soto take a 20% pay cut and play for the ring chasing Dodgers?

[@MArt-cy4bd]

Come back to Japan sometime, Ben. We still got a plenty of talented players out here.

[@Elephant2024]

Good luck in the new setup, Ben. San Diego Padres, what are you doing? They trade prized prospects for Tanner Scott at last year's trading deadline only to see him go to the Dodgers via free agency. Not to mention Roki Sasaki and Kirby Yates both signing with LA. Heck, the Padres have not even (yet?) brought back Jurickson Profar. Elsewhere, the Blue Jays finally make a splash by bringing in Anthony Santander. A salary cap will never be voted in. A salary floor could be more realistic. Yet even a salary cap does not guarantee parity, as the NFL proves. 10 teams, roughly one third of the league finished with 5 wins or less. Not exactly parity. Misery is more like it.

[@Ben_Verlander]

Absolutely agree with you with all of this!

[@dodgedforgottenn]

The Dodgers have not created the largest payroll disparity in history. In 2005, the Yanks $208.3M payroll was over 68% larger than the second highest payroll in the sport and DOUBLE that of the 3rd highest payroll. We’ll see where it ends up landing, but right now the Dodgers are 28% above the second highest payroll. They would need to spend $517MM to replicate what the Yanks did in relation to the 2nd highest payroll. The Dodgers are more than double the 15th highest payroll in baseball, not the 3rd. So this is not even close to unprecedented.

[@dodgedforgottenn]

Also, the Dodgers payroll is just ~9% above where the Mets were 2 years ago. That’s not far above standard inflation percentages for that time period.

[@BilalSattar]

and Lebron went to 8 straight finals. salary cap warriors went 73-9. salary cap chiefs 7 straight championships game. salary cap baseball? no back to back championships in 20 years. no salary cap 🙃

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

baseball? no back to back championships in 20 years. no salary cap - You are Looking BACKWARDS, We have never seen a club assembled like this 2025 Dodger team which could smash all sorts of records, most wins in a season etc... i have seen your argument cited it is a fallacy to apply it given the extraordinary talent of this team

[@BilalSattar]

@user-jv9qz2bu1r like Ben said... it's not a problem until it's a problem. let's see what happens but yes seems to be the best team on paper. my argument is 100% valid. salary cap won't change anything. people just don't want to see the Dodgers win. if the Astros or Yankees or Cubs did it nobody would bat an eye lmao.

[@jeremyboynton6173]

I think there needs to be a salary cap AND floor. Puts more emphasis on teams that draft and trade well. And make the floor high enough for team owners(the cheap ones) to be de-incentivized from using other teams to line their pockets.

[@davidmoss2576]

Instead of salary cap why don't they do a salary floor? I mean if owners are force to spend it they will.

[@johnbarry5036]

the reason the Blue Jays (and other teams) aren't deferring money is bec the team is now harder to sell short term. If the owners are looking to get out, for whatever reason, they want liquidity.

[@NandoA130]

1989-2011 "You actually made the playoffs? That's cute. You'll be lucky to make the NLCS" 2012-2019 "Spend all that money and you still choke in October" 2020 "Covid season. Doesn't count" 2021-2023 "Spend all that money and you still choke in October" 2024 "Baseball needs a salary cap. It's not fair. They just buy all their championships 😭" That sums up Dodger haters narrative in my lifetime

[@ヨシダタカシ]

the deal was to spend ohtani’s defferd money to recruit great players and that's what the dodgers are doing and don't forget they only had 3 starting pitchers left in september so their pen was gassed by game4 of WS

[@gxwbc]

Dodgers may have money (but so do other teams) but they are smarter, and guys who are signing want to win, and get their money later.

[@ScottIvey-j6y]

Doesn’t matter what anybody does American or National League the Dodgers are winning the World Series and probably a few of them in a row. I love to listen to you guys whine

[@AztecRay]

Shohei wanted that deffered money deal. Mets and SF had the same contract. Get your facts right. You skip alot of small info. Tanner received a 20 million signing bonus.

[@tee-fr9kg]

Dodgers fans don't care if everyone else is crying foul. Dodgers are winning, making money, give their fans everything to be excited for. The other teams owners should have done the same, nothing stops them from doing so. Dodgers are putting the best "product" money can buy out there, if other teams are not trying, they'll get at best a "participation trophy"😂 l

[@adk7962]

If one more person compares baseball to another sport… two superstars can make or break a football team or a basketball team. Ohtani and Trout never even sniffed a playoff game…and Ohtani counted as two by himself!

[@ScottIvey-j6y]

I’m just wondering how many games we’re going to win it we’ll break the record

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

Ben - trading for and signing Mookie led to Signing Shohei

[@BrutusMcCrunch]

Where was the energy when we were cheated on a two straight world series????

[@Straker1895]

I don't know of players wanting to play with Juan Soto.

[@cscotz]

I definitely see the appeal of playing in LA and the opportunity to win. But of course it is frustrating as a fan of baseball to see all the disparity in spending between teams across the league. Not sure there is an easy answer to that though and a salary cap would not solve it. There probably does need to be some new rules or clarifications around deferred contracts. It would be nice to start talking about these deferred contracts in terms of net present value instead, making Ohtani's $700 million be "only" $460 million in today's dollars. Else, it's harder to compare how much all these players are actually making.

[@johnbarry5036]

u should ck out what Joe Kelly (who else) said a few days ago about salary caps and the ppl being pissed off at the dodgers. Its prime Kelly, not holding back.

[@Methoes123]

How much can be "deferred" before collateral is exceeded? Can bankruptcy be used if the financial plan fails? Are "deferrals" a Bond, trust, or Bonded?

[@steve13191]

regulation on salary cap and deferred money are coming. eventually. so theyre actually stacking them up even more. most regulations we have in this world are not designed to be retroactive. this forward planning by dodgers, ahead of the game.

[@SteveDave211]

Let them be healthy first.

[@johndurrer7869]

Salary caps are what cause super teams. Because they make it impossible for other teams to catch up. When a team hits the lottery in the draft there’s nothing teams can do for a decade to catch up.

[@otadashi1570]

Does this mean the Dodgers will win the WS next year? No. In fact, the odds are against them. It's baseball. A game that is all about how to manage failure. I think this will just inspire all the other teams to go out and crush them without pressure since they all will be expected to lose.

[@andrewsebaugh]

You haven’t done a Bregman update so I’ll just comment on it. You tweet daily about the Tigers signing him. Dude, it’s not happening. They won’t give him long enough. The longest deal we know of that he’s been offered is the 6 years from the Astros. Reports are even though the Astros pivoted away from him, that offer still stands and he can still take it. If no other team gets close to the Astros offer, he will eventually accept the Astros offer plain and simple. It seems no other team wants to go past 4 or 5 years. I think it Astros trade Pressly the Astros may even increase their offer a little bit.

[@malkinmalone]

It is kinda funny that signing a guy for 6 years 6 million is what has made everyone demand a salary cap. People need to wake up and realize that their favorite team’s owner only wants to pocket a hundred million dollars every year. They do not care about winning the World Series.

[@Methoes123]

The MLB should limit "deferrals" to 25% of contract! All teams are waiting to see if what the Dodgers are doing with "deferrals" violates Banking and Trust Laws. I don't blame them either.

[@anonymousyoutuber7935]

Dodgers might not lose a game ever again

[@ScottIvey-j6y]

I don’t think Juan Sotto falls in that category

[@ubug003]

No problem at all. The "deffered" money go's into a hedge fund account accumulating interest. 1.1 billion dollars over a ten year period. You do the math..... what problem?

[@luckythakur687]

For sasaki

[@mrkeiths48]

Mad. Or jealous?

[@jsanch1892]

That was the 1998 NY Yankees until proven otherwise…..let’s play the games 1st

[@Isaac-qe2in]

(30:25)- Excuse me🤔 Did Ben just declare that this Dodgers lineup will be the GREATEST offense of All-Time?? I'm taking receipts.🧾 Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy aren't getting any younger.

[@yaniyuhara8165]

Go sign your guy !? LOL. It’s not your money. It’s easy for you to say when you are not responsible for P & L.

[@johndurrer7869]

Every dollar deferred by the Dodgers is a dollar that their investment firm will profit off of

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

Avengers 😂

[@ChrisKorman-nr2uc]

Manfred and umpbots are the only thing that can.stop the dodgers

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

what if LA des become the greatest team as you say AND attendance drops off for other teams as fan interest wanes - I would then say this is bad for baseball

[@luissolis8161]

Do think the rangers are content with one championship? I haven’t seen anything from this team proving they want to go out and chase another. Last year was disappointing all over their lineup. Next they didn’t make a big splash or a big move. Only getting some bullpen arms and what trade your good 1B for a bullpen arm. Clearly the team believes in the starting rotation that is very shaky. Depending on degrom to stay healthy is a joke really I think. There isn’t a great ace on the staff that’s consistent. And I can’t say their lineup is better. They’re just hoping and hoping things will work out for them. What do you think. Do you like their moves in the offseason? Huge fan of the podcast. I’m just tired of the rangers 😂.

[@Adrian-zw6sc]

21:22 - " ...being in Los Angeles, a great place to live ..." (cough🔥, cough🚒, cough💨) 21:45 - "...Toronto- taxes are a nightmare..." As if California isn't ALSO a taxing nightmare with incompetent policy-makers.😏

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

California is still the best play to live. Nobody cried when hurricanes hit Florida. 😂😂🤡🤡 California has high taxes, yet, dodgers got all these great players 😂😂😂 Nothing to do with taxes Players want to play with winners

[@CoreySchultz-h4k]

😢🤔😲🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰for real this year 2025

[@annunakian8054]

Hopefully your brother takes those days off...cough cough 😷🤒

[@omgbygollywow]

The only thing is, what if the Dodgers do not win the World Series next season? It would be embarrassing.

[@fernandomonserrat1029]

You can’t make this sh!t up So let me get this straight Supposedly the Mets are better just cause they signed Soto yet in the past 24 years they’ve had over 10 losing seasons YET The Yankees who just made the WS and since 2000 have missed the playoffs twice both with records over .500 aren’t good ? wtf are we doing here

[@brianwalbrecher6213]

1. Baseball needs to outlaw deferring current player payroll, this is bad for the game overall. 2 Players on the 10 day IL or longer, their salaries need to revert to the league minimum while on the IL. So if a player makes $30 Million/ year and is out with Tommy John surgery his salary goes to league minimum for the entirety of IL stint. (Much like Workers Comp), thus freeing up payroll to sign other players.

[@Ben_Verlander]

I do think the new CBA will address it somehow

[@AY2121-i4y]

Owners love it so it won't change. Remember it's all about the owners & player. Player want more pay so it doesn't bother them.

[@Iolo3]

I totally agree with this idea and hope MLB considers this (at least a cap on deferral allowed). Its boring for MLB when one or 2 team becomes over stacked with top players compared to others. Teams don't have same financial flexibility and location also puts some at disadvantage

[@LouisAguado]

The Kansas City Chiefs are nothing without the refs, just like the Patriots

[@Methoes123]

Sasaki is nothing until he proves it in the MLB!

[@Methoes123]

I'd put an "in his prime" Ruth against Ohtani any day of the week! Pitching and hitting!

[@jessie6835]

If she's good enough to move in with, then why isn't she good enough to marry? Why isn't it a great day for Ben to get married, regardless of what Alex Bregman does?

[@ExileOT]

Because he’s too busy slurping up the Dodgers, he can’t choose if he wants to marry his gf or get trained on by the entire Dodger 40-man roster

[@Jason-fe9jo]

The fact that a rookie from Japan can pick where he plays is absolutely ridiculous. American players can't do it so why can they !

[@AY2121-i4y]

It's a international thing😂

[@pjscafe]

Roki is a phenom, tell me, do we have any phenom in the minors? Nope.

[@quobey]

You don't seem to be aware that Americans can do it, too. It' called FA. The Japanese players have already been drafted in Japan. To make them go through another draft is downright discrimination. The problem lies more in the fact that Americans still prefer to call already established professionals from Japan rookies.

[@cityandlocal]

If Roki wanted LA, that's fine. I take issue with the dog and pony show to get there. Not to mention his agent's comments on a desire for a small market. I don't blame the Dodgers for doing their thing. I take issue with some of their obnoxious fanbase. They'd probably get more respect if they were a lot classier. I don't wanna hear about this "playing in Canada" BS. The Jays have been a team in this league for 48 years. Deal with it. Going through customs is only an issue if you have priors. Sports teams fly in private and get dedicated agents to meet them so it's more convenient. I'm sorry spending 5-10 minutes of your time is such a struggle. Those that have played in TO loved it and understand the responsibility that comes with being the country's team. Contracts are front loaded and overpaid already to offset taxes and the players are paid in USD. Make the case that our club culture is hanging by a thread and that are star players need extensions. Not to mention our inept front office. But the country thing? Give me a break! Lots of MLB players were born elsewhere. They all travel with passports and visas anyways! Also, I will never bet against Atlanta's pitching staffs in the 90s as the best rotation ever. This Dodgers' team isn't even better than the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays lol.

[@quobey]

Roki wanted to go to the Dodgers, but he understood that he knew very little about MLB and life in America in general. He chose to hear other people's offers. Isn't that the normal, and right thing to do? The kid grew up in the rural area of Japan, played in one of the least popular teams in NPB, was treated like a king there from day one. And he's a clear introvert! If he thought other smaller market teams could offer him something more to him than the Dodgers baseball-wise, he would've considered it seriously.That's why he gave out his homework to all the contenders to see who had the best vision in developing him even further. This awareness to his craft and cautious approach probably contributed to his becoming the player he is. It's something we should learn from if not admire, not criticize.

[@ChrisKorman-nr2uc]

If manfred can allow houston to cheat then he can certainly get.the.umps.to.throw.games intentionally

[@rv7309]

Covid Dodgers

[@markbarajas4409]

No, they haven’t proven themselves yet.just because they have the big names doesn’t mean they’re automatically going to win.don’t jinx it for our team….don’t get ahead of yourself.lets wait and see the final outcome for this team at the end of the season….it’ll be here before you know it.

[@ScottIvey-j6y]

Doesn’t matter what anybody does American or National League the Dodgers are winning the World Series and probably a few of them in a row. I love to listen to you guys whine