Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani wants to stay with his team for the remaining eight years of his contract, according to the team president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman. Recently expressing his frustration, Ohtani sounded off about a recent loss against the St. Louis Cardinals. Still, Shohei wants to honor his contract by staying in Los Angeles long term.
Friedman revealed Ohtani's desire to stick with the Dodgers, per Dodgers Nation.
“Shohei Ohtani wants to pitch for the remaining eight years of his contract with the Dodgers,” Dodgers Nation posted.
Friedman expressed how the Dodgers will do everything in their power for Ohtani's future.
“I think it’s more about evaluating after every outing,” Friedman said. “We’re doing this in a very methodical way, and we’ll continue to build. Where that stops, we’re not sure yet. We’ll continue to monitor how he’s holding his stuff, how his body is responding, all of those different insights we can get after each outing. But we will continue to build up. To where and what does that mean, we’re not sure yet.
“But we want to make sure and do it in his first year in a very methodical way. He has designs of pitching for eight years after this, and we want to make this as possible as we can.”
Shohei Ohtani reaches major career milestone with Dodgers
Dodgers pitcher and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani recorded his 1,000th career hit in a fitting way as the two-run home run to center field helped seal a 12-6 win against the Cardinals. Ohtani's home run kept the Dodgers ahead, which was the kind of cushion the star needed to close out a win.
After he got through the first four innings without giving up a run, Ohtani knocked in his 39th home run of the season. He's also recovered from elbow surgery, which led to his return to the mound in mid-June. While his initial starts were limited to a few innings, Ohtani has gradually increased his innings pitched after pitching for only three innings in his first few starts of the season.
The Dodgers have carefully managed his workload, considering his dual production as the team's designated hitter and starting pitcher. Despite dropping their recent series against the Cardinals, Ohtani's ability to exceed 100 mph with his fastball remains. The Dodgers have been unwilling to stretch out Ohtani's full starts on the mound.
