The entire baseball community has been captivated by watching Shohei Ohtani compete for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 MLB World Series.

Then again, the baseball community has been captivated by Ohtani ever since he made his MLB debut in 2018. And since that point, he has gone on to win three MVP awards (with the fourth almost certainly arriving soon because of his success in 2025) while winning a World Series with the Dodgers in 2024.

This attention is owed to Ohtani being a two-way superstar, placing himself among the league’s best as both a hitter and a starting pitcher.

There’s a case to be made that Ohtani is already the best baseball player of all time. And if someone isn’t comfortable making that claim quite yet, they would have to agree that he’s at least on track to becoming baseball’s GOAT. And given that he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023, there’s a very good chance his career ends in Los Angeles.

 

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images 

Ohtani’s contract with the Dodgers is fascinating because for the first 10 years of his deal, he’s only receiving $2 million of the $70 million per year his contract provides. The other $68 million per year is being deferred to be paid out from 2034 to 2043.

This was a revolutionary contract structure that turned the baseball world on its head, and is something the Dodgers have been using ever since with other elite players.

And according to an October 28 article from Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Chicago Cubs’ front office not being willing to do this type of deferred deal is what ended their chances of signing Ohtani when he was a free agent two offseasons ago.

Heyman added that the Cubs “Have no known excuse” for being unwilling to defer a portion of Ohtani’s contract, and that this decision “made no sense.” However, one would assume that Jed Hoyer and the rest of Chicago’s brass probably balked at the idea when it was presented to them because this was unheard of at the time.

The Cubs might be kicking themselves over this mistake right now. That being said, their willingness to deter Ohtani’s gigantic contract probably wouldn’t have made them a favorite over the Dodgers in signing him. So it’s not like Chicago’s fan base should feel like this mistake is the reason why Ohtani won’t be hitting and pitching at Wrigley Field for the rest of his career.