Is the Los Angeles Dodgers signing of Shohei Ohtani bad for MLB?

When one of the best teams in a sport signs one of the very best players — let alone the very best of all time — it's guaranteed to get a rise out of fans. Sports are supposed to be about every team having a chance at claiming glory, so the natural reaction is to root against whoever has the deck stacked in its favor. In baseball, it's a particularly massive problem, though the teams who show zero commitment to putting a good product on the field and hate signing players to big contracts are perhaps just as much to blame as teams like LA.

But with the Dodgers becoming the center of the baseball universe after landing Ohtani and numerous other high-profile free agents and trade additions, the target on their back is bigger than the Hollywood sign. Team president/CEO Stan Kasten told Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports that he believes having the massive brands of both Ohtani and the Dodgers makes the deal very beneficial for the sport.

“I think this is good for baseball,’’ Kasten said, via USA TODAY Sports. “The Dodger brand is unique and historic, and now it’s combined with the Ohtani brand, which is unique and historic. People in Japan are telling me that Ohtani is bigger in Japan than [Michael] Jordan was here. His presence is extraordinary. I don’t know who you compare him to, Messi? His presence is extraordinary. I always felt the ideal spot for Ohtani was here. I thought it made too much sense. And when we first got the report of what Shohei was proposing (deferring $680 million of the $700 million), we knew instantly this could work out.”

The bias is obvious here, as the president of the team that landed Ohtani obviously thinks it's good for the game and that his team's brand is unique and historic. Really, all of them are in some way. But the magnitude of Ohtani joining the Dodgers is unavoidable. Fans will be tuning in, whether it's to root for their downfall or witness greatness.

Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Teoscar Hernandez and Manuel Margot will team up with the likes of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Walker Buehler and Max Muncy on a Dodgers team. Aa lot of people will be tuning in for the ride.