Shohei Ohtani to join Dodgers on 10-year, $700M contract

Shohei Ohtani will sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, with his agent Nez Balelo saying the two-way star is getting a 10-year, $700 million contract.

Ohtani posted to Instagram on Saturday saying he would play for his former team's crosstown rival starting next season after spending six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels."I pledge to always do what's best for the team and always continue to give it my all to be the best version of myself. Until the last day of my playing career, I want to continue to strive forward not only for the Dodgers but for the baseball world," Ohtani wrote.

The contract is the largest in baseball history by more than $250 million, topping the 12-year, $426.5 million that now-former teammate Mike Trout signed in 2019. The $70 million average annual salary also easily eclipses the previous record of $43.3 million for Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

Ohtani, 29, is the first player in baseball history to be named unanimous MVP on multiple occasions, an honor bestowed upon him twice over the past three years. During that stretch, he defied conventionality as he exceled as both a pitcher and a hitter while becoming Major League Baseball's first two-way player since Babe Ruth dabbled in both roles more than a century ago.