The Los Angeles Dodgers recently signed superstar Shohei Ohtani in MLB free agency, a move that has been brewing for a long time. In fact, the Dodgers didn't even attempt to sign star free agents last offseason.

Most people around the MLB world expected the Dodgers to display interest in New York Yankees star Aaron Judge last offseason in free agency. After all, the Dodgers are always heavily linked to the best players and Judge was coming off a historic season. Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan of ESPN reported Friday that the Dodgers never even engaged with Judge on a potential contract, however.

“They non-tendered Cody Bellinger, their 27-year-old 2019 MVP, and went frugal in free agency, never so much as engaging with Aaron Judge on the heels of his 62 home run season.”

This update is surprising. It seemed likely that the Dodgers would at least inquire about the possibility of signing Judge. Perhaps they would reach out and see if Judge would be willing to agree to a certain contract.

In the end, it ended up being the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Yankees in the Judge sweepstakes, with New York obviously re-signing the star outfielder.

The Dodgers didn't mind, though. Sure, they probably would have liked to sign a star like Judge. But LA has seemingly had their sights set on this offseason and Shohei Ohtani's free agency for a while.

Dodgers have been preparing to sign Ohtani for years

Shohei Ohtani is a generational superstar. No, he won't pitch in 2024 due to injury. That didn't change the Dodgers' mind, as evidenced by their 10-year, $700 million contract agreement.

The Dodgers seem to believe that Ohtani can help the franchise build a dynasty of sorts. In all reality, the Dodgers have struggled in the postseason in recent years. Sure, LA is always a contender and they haven't endured much trouble in the National League West.

Winning the World Series is the goal, though, something they have only accomplished once in the last 30 years. Anything less than a World Series will be considered a failure in 2024 and beyond after signing Ohtani. The pressure will be immense.

Los Angeles and Ohtani fully understand this. They know people are complaining about the deferred money in Ohtani's contract as well. However, the Dodgers and Ohtani have the same goal.

They want to bring another championship to LA. In fact, they want to earn multiple Fall Classic victories. Ohtani's decision to defer $680 million of his $700 million contract will allow the Dodgers to enhance their aggressiveness in free agency. LA may opt to continue adding through trades as well, already acquiring Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays in a deal.

Aaron Judge is excellent. Other free agent options last year, such as Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, or Xander Bogaerts wouldn't have been bad additions either. But Shohei Ohtani is who the Dodgers wanted, and now he's set to lead Los Angeles for years to come.