Jeff Bankruptcy, a reporter for the U.S. sports media ESPN, said on the 8th (Korea time), “According to sources, outfielder Hernandez has agreed to a one-year contract of $23.5 million (about 30.8 billion won) with the Dodgers. Hernandez has joined the Dodgers’ new faces, including Shohei Ohtani (30), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (26), and Tyler Glasnow (31). The Dodgers have added another All-Star batter to the lineup,” according to a breaking news report.
The Dodgers seems to have no intention of stepping down even after spending more than 1 trillion won (approx. The Dodgers started by catching Ohtani, a pitcher and concurrent employment star. Ohtani was the biggest pitcher that all 30 baseball teams would covet this winter. The Dodgers smiled at the pitcher and concurrent employment superstar, who is precious even in the history of the Major League Baseball, by giving him 700 million U.S. dollars for 10 years. 700 million dollars was the highest amount in the history of professional sports in the U.S.
Shortly after the Otani deal shocked the U.S. media by recruiting pitcher Choi Ki-oh Yamamoto. The Dodgers gave Yamamoto a 12-year, 325 million-dollar contract. It was the highest ever recorded by a pitcher’s free agent, and 12 years was the longest period by a pitcher’s free agent. Both Otani and Yamamoto promised “the best treatment ever” to each of the two Japanese players, showing off their strong will to win the World Series as well as showing off their financial talent. 바카라
The Dodgers’ investment did not stop there. It even signed a five-year extension of 135 million U.S. dollars with the Tampa Bay Rays’ acquisition of ace pitcher Glaswegian. The U.S. media, which is accustomed to Major League club money, also showed its tongue about the Dodgers’ move this winter. As such, it was unbelievable.
The Dodgers were not satisfied and even embraced Hernandez. Compared to the three players who signed the contract, both the duration and the amount of money are not surprising, but it was shocking that their wallets are still open. The total amount spent on Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glaswegian, and Hernandez amounts to 1,183.5 million dollars. “Who will pay for the money that Dodgers spent this winter?” said Bob Nightingale of USA Today.
Hernandez played as a center hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2017 to 2022. He is familiar to Korean baseball fans, as he overlapped with the Toronto ace pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (37). Hernandez made his big league debut in 2016, and played for the Houston Astros, Toronto, and Seattle Mariners, recording a total of 811 games, a batting average of 0.261 (768 hits in 2945 times at bat), 159 homers, 473 RBIs and 0.802 OPS. When he was a Toronto Blue Jays player, he was named an All-Star when he hit a career high with 32 homers and 116 RBIs in 2021.
Last year, the Dodgers won the NL West title with 100 wins and 62 losses. It had an overwhelming season, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks (84 wins and 78 losses), ranking second in the district, by 16 games, and was humiliated by losing all three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite the disappointing results of the fall baseball, the Dodgers announced that it would accompany manager Dave Roberts this year, and is taking a wild turn in the stove league to soothe last fall’s anger.
If the Dodgers fails to win the World Series, it will no longer have justification to make excuses, continuing to buy top-notch players in the league. Despite MVP-turned-batters Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the team is implementing a strategy to unconditionally buy all the best players in the FA market this winter. This raises the question of whether the Dodgers will continue to strengthen its power without closing its wallet.
