On the day when Shohei Ohtani met the media while wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey for the first time, his agent offered the statement that the Los Angeles Angels had every opportunity to keep the Japanese superstar in the fold, but that the American League team did not step up when it came time to be decisive.

Many of the published reports about Ohtani's negotiations indicated the Toronto Blue Jays as the team that represented the team most likely to make the huge signing. The Angels were not considered to to be serious candidates to retain Ohtani, but agent Nez Balelo said that was not the case.

He offered this statement about the final reason to leave the Angels. “In the end, it just wasn’t going to work.”

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Balelo said the Angels were in conversations with Ohtani up until the time the decision was made. Ohtani has famously signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers. He is deferring 97 percent of his payments, and that means he will be receive just $2 million per year.

Ohtani thanked the Dodgers organization while meeting the media for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in September. “I would like to thank the Los Angeles Dodgers organization for giving me an opportunity to play here,” he said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “I can't wait to play for the Dodgers. They share the same passion as me, a vision and history of winning.”

Shohei Ohtani will not pitch during the 2024 season as he recovers from his surgery. However, the slugger will hit and he is coming off a season in which he slashed .304/.412/.654 while hammering 44 home runs and driving in 95 runs. He also stole 20 bases in 26 attempts.