Dodgers breaking silence on Shohei Ohtani meeting speaks volumes

Deesha Thosar

MLB Writer

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Dave Roberts broke the silence.

All anybody wants to talk about in baseball these days is Shohei Ohtani. Amid slower-than-usual winter meetings, and after weeks of no comments and shrugs from teams on the status of his free agency, the Dodgers apparently decided they no longer want to hide the details.

Roberts said Tuesday that he and the Dodgers met with Ohtani “a couple days ago” at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Dodgers manager said the meeting went well, that it lasted somewhere around 2-3 hours, and that no other players were present.

“Clearly,” Roberts said, “Shohei is our top priority.”

Interestingly, Roberts added the Dodgers didn’t really have a pitch or speech prepared for Ohtani, because by being in the same market as Los Angeles for the past six years, the two-way player has “got a pretty good idea of the Dodgers, what we’re about, the city itself.” Instead, the Dodgers spent that time getting more familiar with Ohtani and what “everyday life would look like” if he signed with the club. Roberts said Ohtani had questions for the team, but the skipper kept those details private.

When asked if Ohtani walked away from the meeting feeling happy, Roberts said Ohtani has a very good poker face and that he believed the Japanese superstar was smiling internally. The skipper said he was just happy to spend some time together.

“I don’t feel like lying is something that I do,” Roberts said when asked why he broadcast these details. “I was asked a question, and yeah, I think to be forthright in this situation, we kept it quiet, but I think that it’s going to come out at some point that we met, and it obviously already has. So, I don’t think myself or anyone in our organization would want to lie about it.”

Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, have preferred to keep his free-agency process behind the curtain.

“I think that, you know, we want to respect Shohei’s wishes, Nez’s wishes, as far as being private,” Roberts said. “So, I think that we took the necessary ways to do that, to honor his wish. … I don’t think it’s disrespect to anybody in Shohei’s party or on our side. I think that the details are going to be withheld, which I think they should be. But it’s pretty clear he’s a priority for us.”

These might seem like minor details from Roberts, but the Dodgers are now the first team to openly admit to meeting with Ohtani this winter. Roberts’ steadfast and forthright comments were a complete departure from how other teams have chosen to handle all things Ohtani.

For instance, just 10 minutes before Roberts took the podium, Blue Jays manager John Schneider sat at the very same table and declined to comment on whether he and the team met with Ohtani, where that meeting took place, and how that meeting went. According to a report from The Athletic, the Blue Jays met with Ohtani on Monday at the team’s spring training complex in Dunedin, Florida.

Relatedly, Schneider was scheduled to conduct a news conference with reporters Monday, but that session was postponed to Tuesday. During today’s session, Schneider and the Blue Jays had clearly decided to withhold any details of the reported meeting with Ohtani.

“We talk to a lot of different players,” Schneider said. “I wouldn’t know anything like that, if he’s, where he’s leaning or anything like that, but again, we deal with a lot of different players.”

The winter meetings have been particularly quiet this year. Roberts echoed what other executives believe, in that once Ohtani goes off the board, the free agency and trade market should pick up as well. The radio silence and slow winter meetings only further compound how flashy Roberts’ comments about Ohtani were on Tuesday. It’s possible that was the manager’s and team’s way of daring Ohtani and his agent to hold that release of information against them.

Shohei Ohtani & Dodgers could be best match in all of MLB

Another way to interpret Roberts’ comments? He must feel confident that a deal is close to being reached with Los Angeles.

“But at the end of the day he’s his own man,” Roberts said. “And he’s going to do what’s best for himself, where he feels most comfortable.”

Roberts said the Dodgers have access to information on Ohtani’s surgery this past September. The details of that operation, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, were also largely kept private by Ohtani and his representation. We know that Ohtani underwent right elbow surgery, with ElAttrache confirming only that this second UCL tear in his right elbow didn’t require another Tommy John surgery. Ohtani is aiming to be in the lineup for 2024 Opening Day but will not pitch next year.

The Dodgers are confident that Ohtani will pitch again when the time is right, Roberts noted.

“But I think that the thing is, for us, it’s, you’re making a bet on the person, and the player as well,” Roberts said. “But when you’re committing, you know, this type of length and dollars, we’re all-in on the person. I think that we’re willing and excited to make that bet and hopefully it comes to pass.”

It was striking to hear Roberts freely express optimism that Ohtani will be a part of the Dodgers’ upcoming season and beyond. When the skipper was asked generally about the team’s designated hitter, Roberts again name-dropped Ohtani as an option there, which was unsolicited.

So now, more than ever, the Dodgers appear to be Ohtani’s landing spot. It could just be a matter of when, not if.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.