Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has understandably been all the talk at MLB’s winter meetings. With the expectation that Ohtani could make his free-agency decision any day now, the teams in pursuit have generally played it cool about their chances.
In fact, it was reported early on in Ohtani’s free agency that any leaks could actually hurt a team’s chances, which made Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ comments on Tuesday even more surprising.
He openly spoke about the team’s presentation to Ohtani.
Dave Roberts confirms the Dodgers met with Shohei Ohtani at Dodger Stadium “a couple days ago.” Roberts said it “went well” and that the two sides became “more familiar” with each other. “It was just a pleasure to get to spend some time with him.”
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) December 5, 2023
Roberts on Ohtani’s arm recovery. “Our staff is confident that when the time is right, he will pitch again.” He said ultimately the team is willing to “bet on the person.”
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) December 5, 2023
Roberts told reporters that the Dodgers had their meeting with Ohtani a couple days ago, and that he felt the presentation went well. Roberts was asked about why he decided to share those details publicly, and he basically said that he didn’t see the point in lying about it. After all, the Dodgers’ interest in Ohtani hasn’t been a secret, and Roberts felt that details of the meeting were going to come out eventually.
Along with the Dodgers, the Cubs, Blue Jays, Giants and Braves are thought to be in contention for Ohtani’s services. But thus far, there haven’t been many leaks from teams. So, you can understand why some Dodgers fans weren’t thrilled about Roberts casually sharing those details.