Insider updates Dodgers' possible pursuit of Angels' Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Dodgers have repeatedly been linked with Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani since at least this past winter. 

That was months before it was learned Wednesday that Ohtani suffered an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow.

"...Part of the reason why the Dodgers have been as successful as they have been is because Andrew Friedman, the team's head of baseball operations, has played conservatively in the market," ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney explained for a piece published Thursday. "Despite their high payroll, the Dodgers in recent years have been relatively risk-averse...Now that Ohtani's future as a pitcher is murky, the potential risk is heightened. It's too early to know how much this affects the Dodgers' enthusiasm for Ohtani, but Friedman has never paid for hype or been willing to spend big dollars on speculative investments." 

Ohtani likely is months away from earning American League Most Valuable Player honors for the second time since 2021, and the fact he underwent successful Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2018 didn't stop in-the-know individuals from predicting throughout the summer his next MLB contract could be worth a minimum of $600M guaranteed. 

That number dramatically decreased following Wednesday's events. 

"In all likelihood, a deal guarantee of $600M is off the table now, and perhaps so is $500M," Olney noted. "After news of the Ohtani injury broke, some industry sources speculated that offers to him might need to come in two parts: the payment for his offensive production...and then a creative structure to compensate him for whatever he does as a pitcher." 

Olney also suggested that a team could look to keep Ohtani as a two-way unicorn but move him to a closer role similar to the transition that Hall of Famer John Smoltz made during his career. Ohtani served as a relief pitcher as recently as for Japan during the World Baseball Classic earlier this year. 

It is, of course, worth mentioning that Olney and others within MLB only know so much about Ohtani's upcoming free-agency journey less than 24 hours after the 29-year-old was diagnosed with a career-altering setback. 

If, however, the Dodgers have second thoughts about how much they're willing to pay Ohtani, any hesitation could open the door for big-spending clubs such as the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets to win a bidding war that will be cheaper than it would have been had the generational talent shut himself down on Aug. 1.